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KILD    AND   THE    S 
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Address,    REV.  GEO.    G.    SMITH, 

Vineville,   Macon.   Ga. 


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GEORGE    G.   SMITH 

AND 

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MRS     BISHOP   PIERCE. 


Go 

MRS.  ANN   M.  PIERCE 

THIS   BOOK    IS   DEDICATED   AT   THE   SPECIAL   INSTANCE   OF 

HER   LOVING    CHILDREN,  AND   WITH   THE 

GENUINE    AFFECTION     OF 

THE  AUTHOR 


PREFACE 


I  HAVE  endeavored  to  let  Bishop  Pierce  tell  his  own  story  ; 
I  have  not  been  able  to  put  into  the  compass  of  these  pages 
all  I  would  have  been  glad  to  have  published.  The  tributes 
of  Dr.  Lipscomb,  of  Dr.  Haygood  and  others,  I  am  obliged 
to  omit  ;  and  the  touching  story  of  his  life  in  California,  as 
told  by  his  cherished  friend  Dr.  Fitzgerald,  by  an  accident  in 
mailing  reached  me  too  late  for  the  printer. 

I  have  not  done  the  work  hastily,  but  as  speedily  as  I 
could. 

I  have  left  much  unsaid,  and  yet  the  book  is  larger  than 
is  usual.  I  do  not  think  my  readers  will  complain  of  its 
length.  I  am  much  indebted  to  my  friends  Lovick  Pierce, 
the  son,  and  the  bishop's  daughters  for  efficient  help  in 
preparing  the  book,  and  to  Ruth  and  Ethel,  the  bishop's 
granddaughters,  for  very  kind  service.  I  am  sorry  my  good 
friend  Dr.  Haygood  takes  so  little  space  for  his  introduction, 
which  I  hoped  would  have  been  much  longer. 

I  have  been  intensely  interested  in  compiling  and  editing 
the  book,  and  trust  my  readers  will  be  so  in  reading  it. 

George  G.  Smith. 

Vineville,  Macon,  Ga., 
September,  iSSS. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER   I. 

PAGE 

Father  and  Mother,  i 785-181  i, 1 

CHAPTER  II. 
Childhood  and  Youth,  181 1-29,  Aged  1-18, 36 

CHAPTER  III. 
Early  Days  of  his  Ministry,  1829-39,  Aged  19-28,  ...      55 

CHAPTER  IV. 
The  College  President,  1839-40,  Aged  28-29, 95 

CHAPTER  V. 
Vineville  Life,  1841-42,  Aged  30-31, 113 

CHAPTER  VI. 
The  Pastorate  Again,  Augusta,  1843-44,  Aged  32-33,      .        .        .121 

CHAPTER   VII. 
On  the  District  Again,  1845-48,  Aged  34-37, 143 

CHAPTER   VIII. 
The  College  President,  1849-54,  Aged  38-43,  ....     159 

CHAPTER  IX. 
The  Bishop,  1854,  Aged  43, 186 

CHAPTER  X. 
Episcopal  Journeyings,  1855,  Aged  44, 209 


viii  Contents. 

CHAPTER  XI. 

PACK 

Episcopal  Joi'rneyings,  1S56,  Aged  45, 270 

CHAPTER  XII. 
Episcopal  Journeyings,  1S57,  Aged  46 

I   I!  \1T!  K     XIII. 
opal  Journeyings,  1S58.  Aged  47, 339 

CHAPTER   XIV. 
EMOS,  1859-60,  Aged  48-49, 365 

CHAPTER   XV. 

Tin:  WAJ  .  toBD  S0-.v* 436 

CHAPTER  XVI. 
Readjustment,  1S65-66,  Aged  54-55, 

lPTER    XVII. 

56-60, 499 

CHAPTER   X\  III. 

'■<>-(>  1 540 

CHAPTER    XIX. 
Epis<  .  1873-74,  3 572 

CHAPTER   XX. 

yings,  1S75-78,  Aged  64-67, 609 

CHAPTER   XXI. 
[878-84,  Agbd  67-73, 63J 

CHAPTER   XXII. 
The  Closing   I  673 


INTRODUCTION. 


I  LONG  hoped  that  it  might  be  my  privilege  to  prepare 
for  publication  a  volume  in  honor  of  two  men,  honored  and 
loved  by  me  as  I  could  honor  and  love  but  few  men.  It 
would  have  been  so  much  a  work  of  gratitude  to  them  that 
nothing  I  could  have  done  in  writing  the  lives  of  "  the  Pierces, 
father  and  son,"  could  have  satisfied  me,  to  say  nothing  of 
others.  For  to  these  two  men,  great  and  good  and  loving, 
both  of  them,  I  owe  much  ;  they  were,  in  many  ways,  above 
all  by  the  inspiration  to  me  to  try  to  be  a  man  that  was  in 
them,  helpful  when  I  most  needed  the  help  of  wise  and  good 
people. 

From  i860  to  the  time  of  their  translation,  I  was  much 
with  Dr.  Pierce  and  his  son,  our  late  senior  bishop.  I  knew 
them  both  as  well,  perhaps,  as  one  man  can  know  other  men. 
They  were  greatest  and  best  the  more  intimately  they  were 
known  ;  these  men  lost  rather  than  gained  by  distance. 

I  was  Dr.  Pierce's  assistant,  "  junior  preacher,"  in  the  first 
"appointment"  I  received,  Pierce  Chapel,  Columbus,  Ga., 
and  Girard,  Ala.,  i860.  The  half  of  nearly  every  Monday 
and  Saturday  was  spent  in  the  "  old  doctor's  "  study  ;  most 
profoundly  did  his  monologues  concerning  Bible  teaching, 
Methodist  history  and  doctrine  and  religious  experience  af- 
fect the  whole  course  of  my  own  life.  My  second  appoint- 
ment was  Sparta,  Ga.,  Bishop  Pierce's  family  being  in  my 
pastoral  charge.  The  affectionate  intimacies  begun  during 
these  years  never  ceased,  they  never  will.  I  was  often  at 
the  bishop's  house,  the  venerable  father  always  the  centre  of 
interest ;  they  were  often  at  my  house.     We   were  together 


x  Introduction. 

in  travel,  in  preaching,  in  church  work  of  many  sorts,  in 
scenes  sad  and  scenes  joyful,  in  differences  and  agreements, 
in  public  and  in  private.  From  the  time  I  knew  them  till 
they  left  us,  conversations  and  letters  were  as  frequent  as 
opportunity  allowed.  And  as  to-night  I  look  back  and 
think  of  them  through  all  these  years,  having  seen  much  of 
of  them  both  in  public  and  in  private  life,  on  great  occasions 
and  very  small  ones,  I  am  sure  they  now  seem  to  me  greatest 
in  private  life. 

In  the  truest  and  best  sense  these  men  are  as  much  ours 
as  they  ever  were.  We  do  not  lose  our  friends  because  they 
go  out  of  the  body.  Indeed  they  arc  more  ours  out  of  the 
body  than  in  it.  If  for  no  other  reason,  because  we  know 
them  better. 

There  is  a  subtle  philosophy  here  that  I  cannot  put  into 
words,  and  that  I  do  not  wish  others,  if  they  could,  to  put 
into  words  for  me  ;  but  I  am  none  the  less  sure  of  the  truth. 
Our  disembodied  friends  are  made  manifest  to  our  spiritual 
virion,  which  i-^  the  true  seeing,  as  they  could  not  be  when 
we  looked  upon  their  natural  bodies  with  our  natural  e; 
Then  we  saw  them  "  as  in  a  glass  darkly."  If  we  also 
were  out  of  the  body  we  would  now  "  see  them  face  to  face." 

Those  who  ever  truly  knew  Bishop  Pierce  and  his  father, 
know  t;.  ter   now   than   they   ever   knew   them.      Had 

Jesus  continued  in  the  flesh  his  disciples  could  never  have 
known  "  him  as  he  is."  It  was  "  expedient  for  them  that 
he  should  go  away."  And  this  is  true  of  all  good  people; 
true  as  to  those  who  go  hence  and  for  those  who  stay  here. 

What  a  vast  reach  of  Methodist  and  American  history  Dr. 
Pierce  lived  and  witnessed  !  When  he  began,  most  of  Geor- 
gia was  inhabited  by  Indians,  and  Methodism  in  America 
represented  by  a  few  feeble  Conferences,  for  the  most  part 
hugging  the  Atlantic  coast.  When  he  fell  on  sleep  Meth- 
odism was  rooted  and  grounded  almost  round  the  world  ;  it 
had  spread  nearly  over  the  North  American  continent,  the 
great  movement  in  Mexico  and  Central  America  beginning 
during  his  last  years  among  us.     He  had  been  active  and  use- 


Introduction.  xi 

ful  as  a  preacher — he  would  not  wish  me  to  write  of  him  "  min- 
ister," or  "  clergyman  " — for  nearly  seventy-five  years,  when 
he  went  to  heaven,  to  enter  upon  other  and  "  greater  works." 
He  was  full  of  confidence  for  the  future  of  Methodism  ;  not 
because  it  was  Methodism,  but  because  he  truly  believed  that 
Christianity  would  itself  take  and  hold  this  world. 

Bishop  Pierce  did  not  labor  so  long,  but  as  much  as  his 
father.  Fifty  years  and  more  he  was  in  the  fore-front  of 
every  battle.  Where  the  fight  was  hottest,  there  we  always 
found  him.  He  served,  not  more  faithfully  than  his  father, 
that  could  not  be,  but  in  a  greater  variety  of  labors. 
Preacher,  college  agent,  college  president,  bishop,  he  was 
"  in  labors  more  abundant,"  always  doing  the  best  he  could 
at  the  time. 

The  father  knew  better  than  the  son  how  to  economize 
his  strength  ;  Dr.  Pierce  "  preached  every  chance  he  got," 
but  he  was  more  prudent  in  caring  for  his  health.  The  bish- 
op's splendid  constitution  served  him  so  well  that  the  need 
of  sparing  himself  he  did  not  apprehend  till  the  time  had 
passed.  But  this  is  true  :  if  over-work  really  shortened  his 
stay  among  us,  the  fault  was  more  ours  than  his.  He  did  not 
spare  himself,  nor  did  the  Church  spare  him.  He  was  always 
wanted  "  when  Ire  could  be  had."  Many  times  during  his 
last  ten  years  among  us  he  was  earnestly  and  lovingly 
chided  for  not  taking  better  care  of  himself;  preachers  and 
people  begged  him  to  rest  and  ended  their  exhortation  by 
urging  him  to  do  some  special  work  for  them.  Many  said  of 
him  :  "  He  is  working  himself  to  death."  While  "  the  old 
doctor,"  nearing  his  century  line,  was  yet  with  us,  we  were 
wont  to  think  of  the  son  as  a  young  man  ;  when  the  father 
was  gone,  we  suddenly  discovered  that  the  son  was  himself 
already  an  old  man  and  we  had  not  known  it. 

Far  be  it  from  me  to  judge  one  of  Christ's  servants,  who, 
for  half  a  century,  in  the  love  of  God  and  man,  did  his  best  to 
make  the  world  better,  and  did  nothing  else.  It  were  a  thou- 
sand times  better  to  burn  out  with  over-work  than  to  rust 
away  in   the  slow  combustion  of   inglorious  ease  and   self- 


xii  Introduction. 

indulgence.  Enough  of  us  are  "  taking  care  of  ourselves  ;  " 
few  enough  of  us  can  say,  "  The  zeal  of  thine  house  hath 
eaten  me  up,"  or  so  much  as  know  what  the  words  mean. 

A  reminiscence  may  be  pardoned  here.  Bishop  Pierce 
was  by  so  many,  and  with  such  insistence  and  iteration, 
urged  to  spare  himself  that  he  was  sometimes  annoyed,  par- 
ticularly by  those  who  were  most  assiduous  and  successful  in 

ng  care  of  themselves.  When  a  la/.)'  man  exhorted  him 
it,  it  vexed  him. 

It  is  but  just   to    Bishop    Tierce    to    give   his   latest    words 

abject   of  his    over-working    himself.      Monday 

before  the  following  Wednesday  that  he 

left  us,  he  s.iid  to   me   that   it   was  true    that   during   that  last 

summer    he   had    sometimes    preached   when   he    should   not. 

that  saiiu   day   he   gave   his   deliberate   judgment  of  the 

matter,  as  it  concerned  his  general  course  of  conduct.     When 

a  friend,  not  this  writer,  remarked  in   his  pri  lie  has 

font,"   he   answered,  with   a   force  of  words   and 

manner,  not  to  be  forgotten  by  those  who  were  at  his  bedside  : 

"  I    have   not   over-done  it.      I   have  only  gone  on   in  the 

alar  drift  of  duty.  I  have  not  made  occasions,  some  of 
them  I  hav(  I  ;   I  v    nt  as  faj  as  I  could  and  stopped." 

We  cannot  measure  the  worth  of  such  men  as  Bishop 
Pierce  and  his  father.  When  a  mere  money-getter  winds 
up  il  measure  him.     A  few  figures  give  the  sum 

I  of  his  life  and  Ids  product.     But  we  have  no  gauges  for 

isuring  results  in  the  spiritual  sphere.  The  good  and  the 
evil  that  men  do  cannot  be  compressed  into  or  expressed  by 
statistical  tables.  And  it  is  a  dull  sort  of  blunder  to  try  to  do 
it.  As  well  try  to  weigh  in  balances  the  perfume  of  flowers 
or  the  music  of  songs.  We  only  know  that  these  two  great 
and  good  men  threw  the  whole  of  their  rich  lives  into  the 
work  of  Christ  Jesus  among  men.  Thousands  of  us  here 
have,  in  mai  es,   entered    into  their  labors;   for   many 

thousands  the  world  is  different  because  these  Pierces  lived 
in  it  so  long  and  so  well,  and  for  many  thousands  eternity 
will  be  different  for  their  sal.' 


'Introduction.  xiii 

Of  their  peculiar  gifts,  their  marked  resemblances  and 
their  striking  differences,  their  personal  qualities  as  to  nerve.-, 
and  temperament,  their  intellectual  and  moral  characteristics, 
their  methods  of  study,  of  thought,  and  of  preaching,  I  make 
no  estimate  here.  These  things  are,  for  those  who  did  not 
know  them- while  still  in  the  flesh,  best  studied  in  this  volume, 
which  tells  of  them  in  the  best  way.  For  the  most  part  they 
tell  their  own  story. 

If  there  is  less  concerning  "  the  old  doctor"  than  he  de- 
serves or  than  the  Church  expected,  it  must  be  remembered 
that  he  kept  no  diary,  and  all  the  men  and  women,  with  few 
exceptions,  who  knew  his  first  fifty  years,  left  the  world  be- 
fore him.  Of  those  who  could  tell  us  of  the  first  quarter  or 
third  of  his  century  all  are  gone.  We  know  these  years  were 
crowded  with  great  labors,  great  in  quantity  and  in  quality ; 
somewhere  between  i8;o  and  1840  he  attended  seven  camp- 
meetings  in  as  many  weeks.  But  the  story  has  only  one 
record  ;  it  is  on  high. 

By  the  bishop's  desire  I  preached  at  the  burial  of  his 
father's  body  ;  by  the  request  of  the  bishop's  family  I 
preached  when  his  worn  and  wasted  frame  was  laid  away.  If 
I  could  I  would  have  fulfilled  my  promise  made  to  the  bishop, 
Sunday  night,  September  I,  1884,  as  he  lay  on  his  last  bed, 
to  "  write  the  life  of  his  father."  Providence,  not  my  choice, 
has  ordered  otherwise.  Both  men  I  honored  and  loved  as 
long  as  they  were  on  the  earth  ;  both  I  honor  and  love  all 
the  more  since  they  went  away  and  I  could  know  them  more 
perfectly  ;  both  I  expect  to  love  and  honor  forever. 

I  am  very  glad  that  the  work  of  preparing  this  volume 
fell  to  one  both  men  loved  and  honored  much.  He  was  near 
them  in  many  ways  and  knew  them  in  many  sympathetic 
relations.  Many  gifts  and  providences  have  fitted  my  long- 
time friend  and  brother,  the  author  and  editor  of  this  book, 
to  do  this  work  better  than  any  other  could  have  done  it. 

The  Church  will  read  this  volume  with  growing  profit ;  to 
young  preachers  it  should  be  an  education  and  an  inspira- 


xiv  Introduction. 

tion.  The  biography  of  a  useful  man  must  itself  be  useful ; 
that  the  biography  of  these  two  Pierces — I  write  it  so,  for  one 
story  tells  of  both  men — cannot  be  written  to  the  satisfaction 
of  those  who  knew  them  best,  is  nobody's  fault.  The  diffi- 
culty is  in  the  subject  and  its  conditions.  Here  are  great 
lives  full  of  work  of  an  altogether  noble  sort ;  the  records  are 
meagre  ;  and  the  popular  imagination  has  already  idealized 
them. 

Four  years  and  one  day  have  passed  since  the  son,  our 
late  senior  bishop,  rested  from  the  work  we  had  seen  him 
t< <iling  at  so  long  ;  it  may  well  be  that  he  has  done  more  and 
better  work,  and  without  toil  or  fatigue,  during  these  four 
years  and  a  day.  than  in  all  the  years  and   days  that   went 

A  rncus  G.  Haygood. 

■  4,  ibbb. 


LIFE   AND   TIMES 

OF 

GEORGE  F.  PIERCE. 


CHAPTER  I. 

FATHER    AND    MOTHER. 

Bishop  Pierce's  Sketch  of  his  Father — Section  I. :  General  Remarks- 
Section  II.:  Parents — The  Family — Thomas  Darley — Jimmy  Jenkins 
— Barnwell — The  Awakening  and  Conversion — Lovick  Preaches — The 
Removal  to  Georgia — The  Brothers  Recommended  to  Conference — 
Admitted  and  Appointed  to  Work — Pedee  Circuit — George  Dougherty, 
Dr.  Pierce's  Recollections  of  Him — Simeon's  Skeletons — Apalachee 
Circuit — Colonel  George  Foster — Ann  the  Daughter — Stationed  in 
Augusta  —  Depression  —  Recovery  —  Columbia,  South  Carolina  — 
Oconee  District — Marriage — Section  III.:  Bishop  Pierce's  Sketch  of 
Lo  ick  and  Reddick  Pierce. 

Bishop  Pierce  attempted  to  write  the  life  of  his  father. 
He  wrote  four  short  chapters,  which  I  have  presented,  if  not 
in  the  order  in  which  they  were  written,  yet  substantially 
unchanged.  These  chapters  give  us  a  view  of  the  father  to 
his  twenty-first  year,  vhen  he  entered  upon  his  second  year's 
work  in  the  ministry  .>s  a  preacher  on  the  Apalachee  Circuit. 
The  manuscript  has  four  chapters.  The  first,  which  is  here 
given  entire,  is  headed  : 

Section  I. — General  Remarks. 

The  life  of  a  preacher  is  commonly  so  tranquil  and  uni- 
form as  to  furnish  but  few  incidents  for  the  pen  of  a  biographer. 
The  story  of  a  single  year,  with  its  labors  and  services,  is  sub- 


2  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce. 

stantially  a  statement  of  facts  which  embraces  a  long  career. 
The  itinerant  system,  with  all  its  changes  of  place  and  appoint- 
ment, has  so  little  of  variety  in  its  scenes  and  associations  as 
to  realize,  after  all,  well  nigh  the  monotony  of  a  settled  pas- 
torate. The  Church  is  a  unit — the  work  is  the  same,  and 
whether  the  minister  fills  a  mission,  or  a  station,  a  circuit, 
<>r  a  district,  his  line  of  action  is  formulated  by  an  established 
order.  Hence  the  history  of  one  man  is  the  history  of 
another,  and  of  all.  Superior  talent,  eminent  service,  general 
popularity  may  invest  one  man's  services  with  an  eclat  not 
common  to  his  brethren,  but  there  is  often  not  enough  of 
romance  and  adventure,  of  anecdote  and  incident  to  consti- 
tute the  materials  of  an  interesting  narrative. 

The  majority  <>f  readers  ate  attracted  by  what  is  brilliant  in 
character  and  daring  in  action,  rather  than  by  thelcss  splen- 
did achievements  of  faith  and  piety.  The  hero  with  his  gar- 
ments rolled  in  blood  ;  th  nan  in  the  halls  of  legislation, 
protecting  industry  by  law,  stimulating  commerce  by  opening 
new  channels  of  trade,  or  in  the  councils  of  the  cabinet 
scheming  for  empire,  these  are  applauded  while  they  live,  and 
their  fame  perpetuated  m  the  records  of  the  nation.  The  ser- 
vant of  Christ,  however,  distinguished  by  all  that  is  holy  and 
useful,  must  wait  for  his  honors  in  the  revelations  of  eternity, 
and  expect  the  due  estimate  of  his  labors  only  as  they  are 
written  in  the  tablets  of  heaven. 

By  private  letters  and  personal  appeals,  by  resolutions  of 
conferences  and  other  Methodist  associations,  I  have  been 
urged  to  write  the  life  of  my  father,  the  Rev.  Lovick  Pierce. 
As  the  first-born  of  his  house  and  his  companion  more  than 
any  other  member  of  his  family,  and  his  fellow-laborer  in  the 
ministry  for  well  nigh  fifty  years,  the  task,  with  some  pro- 
priety, devolves  on  me.  Yet  I  have  hesitated.  My  physical 
condition,  taken  in  connection  with  my  official  duties,  fre- 
quent and  long  absences  from  home,  the  weariness  when  I 
returned,  enjoining  rest,  the  correspondence  which  had  ac- 
cumulated and  must  be  attended  to,  and  in  all  candor  my 
aversion  to  writing,  all  these  things  have  made  me  pause. 


Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  3 

Now  that  I  am  vocally  disabled  and  cannot  occupy  the  pulpit 
as  aforetime,  the  thought  has  occurred  to  me  that  the  best 
thing  I  can  do  will  be,  in  this  interval  of  a  very  active  life,  to 
execute  the  task  providentially  assigned  to  me. 

The  great  trouble  inheres  in  the  work  to  be  done.  Dr. 
Pierce  was  a  man  of  mark — he  filled  a  large  place  in  the 
world  and  he  occupied  it  a  long  time.  He  impressed  himself 
with  power  upon  public  interests  and  had  a  large  share  in  the 
confidence  and  affections  of  the  people.  He  lived  to  a  great 
age,  but  his  ministry  was  fresh — that  never  grew  old.  He 
never  commanded  more  attention  than  in  the  last  years  of  his 
life.  Indeed,  not  only  did  the  Church  and  the  world  render 
to  him  the  homage  and  veneration  due  to  his  extreme  age 
and  long  service,  but  they  heard  him  with  a  zest  and  wonder 
and  admiration  unsurpassed  even  in  the  meridian  of  his 
strength.  The  writer  cannot  meet  public  expectation  by  any 
record  of  his  life.  Not  to  stress  my  incapacity  for  the  work 
(though  I  feel  it  sensibly),  no  one  could  realize  the  public 
ideal,  strange  to  say,  mainly  for  lack  of  material. 

My  father  kept  no  diary,  no  journal.  There  are  no  facts, 
or  dates,  or  records  outside  of  fragmentary  notices  in  the 
public  prints  and  the  Conference  minutes.  My  own  memory 
is  the  sole  depository  on  which*  I  can  draw.  I  persuaded  him, 
twenty  years  ago,  to  write  an  autobiography.  This  he  did  at 
great  length — not  so  much  a  narrative  of  himself,  however, 
as  a  comment  upon  his  times.  This  document  was  unfort- 
unately left  in  Columbus  when  he  came  to  live  permanently 
with  me ;  and  in  the  confusion  of  the  war  and  the  removal  of 
his  furniture  from  place  to  place,  this,  with  other  manu- 
scripts, was  mislaid  and  cannot  be  found.  This  loss  is  irre- 
trievable ;  all  the  more  so,  when  we  remember  through  how 
many  strata  of  modern  civilization  a  man  must  have  passed, 
who  lived  in  the  world  nearly  ninety-five  years.  The  com- 
ments and  reflections  of  a  mind  observant  and  philosophic 
would  have  been  invaluable  in  the  work  before  me.  In  the 
absence  of  such  a  record,  or  any  substitute  corresponding  to  it, 
the  writer  is  wholly  dependent  upon  his  personal  recollections. 


4  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce. 

During  my  father's  sojourn  in  my  family,  it  was  one  of 
our  nightly  pastimes  to  induce  him  to  talk  of  the  past.  He 
was  never  garrulous,  did  not  live  in  the  years  gone  by,  like 
other  old  men.  lie  lived  in  the  present  and  scanned  the 
future  almost  with  a  prophet's  eye.  Current  events,  the 
prospects  ahead,  these  were  the  staple  of  his  thoughts  and 
the  topics  of  his  conversation.  lie  was  well-nigh  always  seri- 
ous and  meditative,  yet  for  his  own  relief  and  fur  the  enter- 
tainment of  his  grandchildren,  he  would  indulge  in  reminis- 
cences of  his  boyhood  and  his  early  ministry.  He  enjoyed 
these  interviews  very  much,  and  my  children  and  children's 
children  will  never  forget  how  "old  grandfather"  at  once 
amused  and  instructed  them  in  these  fireside  talks.  He  and 
I  alternated  in  our  morning  and  evening  devotions,  and  these 
>des  fell  in  on  this  wise  :  As  we  rose  from  our  knees  and 
resumed  our  seats,  with  sparkling  eyes  and  face  aglow,  he 
would  say:  "  George,  the  psalm  you  read  to-night  carried 
me  back  to  my  beginning.  In  1806  I  heard  George 
Dougherty  preach  one  of  his  mighty  sermons"  on  such  a 
verse,  quoting  it  and  telling  of  the  wonderful  results.  Then 
he  would  dilate  upon  the  preacher,  in  his  judgment  the 
greatest  man  in  all  Southern  Methodism.  Starting  thus  he 
would  describe  scenes,  narrate  incidents,  illustrating  men, 
soc:  I  the  times.     Out  of  these  scraps  I  must  write  the 

following  history.  As  the  story  comes  down  to  the  days  of 
my  own  majority,  I  shall  be  less  dependent  on  mere  memory. 

Once  more  my  filial  relations  will  embarrass  my  pen. 
Suffice  it  to  say,  whatever  my  heart  might  prompt  and  how- 
ever partial  affection  might  tinge  my  conceptions,  it  is  not 
my  purpose  to  write  a  eulogy.  Nevertheless,  I  shall  write 
with  freedom,  assured  that  the  strongest  thing  I  may  say 
will  find  its  endorsement  in  the  concurrent  verdict  of  his  gen- 
eration. I  shall  outline  my  father's  character  literally,  truly, 
without  exaggeration  and  without  concealment.  Thank  God, 
in  a  thorough  analysis  of  character  and  an  intimate  knowl- 
edge of  private  and  public  life  there  is  nothing  to  hide, 
nothing    to    be   ashamed   of.     There   were   infirmities,  some 


Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  5 

weak  points  here  and  there,  but  these  leaned  to  virtue's  side 
and  were  attributes  of  which  others  were  the  beneficiaries, 
while  he  was  the  victim.  I  never  knew  a  purer  man.  I 
claim  for  him  no  "  perfection."  He  did  not  profess  it  as  an 
attainment  in  his  Christian  experience,  even  while  he  taught 
it  as  a  doctrine  of  the  Bible  and  of  Methodism.  Indeed, 
while  often  highly  demonstrative  in  his  religious  emotions, 
he  was  reticent  and  reserved  as  to  any  strong  declarations  about 
himself.  His  convictions  were  strong,  his  principles  deep- 
rooted  and  controlling,  his  habits  regulated  by  a  tender,  dis- 
criminating conscience.  There  were  no  chasms  nor  spasms 
in  his  religious  life.  All  was  steady,  consistent,  equable, 
save  as  physical  causes  might  effect  moods  of  mere  sensibil- 
ity. Conduct  always  responded  to  the  claims  of  duty,  as  the 
dial  to  the  sun.  He  was  not  religious  simply  in  the  gross 
aggregate  of  life,  but  apprehended  Christian  principle  in  its 
most  subtle  refinements  and  most  delicate  application.  His 
eye  was  single,  and  to  please  God  in  all  things  so  steadily 
aimed  at,  that  he  was  independent  of  all  emotional  conditions. 
Sometimes  he  mounted  up  on  wings  as  an  eagle,  but  when 
the  flight  was  ended  and  experience  had  subsided  to  its  ordi- 
nary level,  his  religious  character  was  so  adjusted  and  sus- 
tained, that,  if  he  ran,  he  was  not  weary,  and  if  he  walked, 
he  did  not  faint.  The  motive  power  in  him  worked  efficiently 
under  every  degree  of  pressure,  and  the  heavenward  move- 
ment knew  no  pause  and  was  equal  to  every  burden  and 
every  emergency.  Next  to  his  personal  salvation,  the  purity 
of  the  Church  was  his  chief  concern.  Every  other  subject 
was  of  transient  interest.  Family  affairs,  political  events, 
financial  convulsions,  could  neither  turn  nor  check  the  current 
of  his  thoughts.  The  policy  of  the  Church,  its  discipline  and 
administration,  ministerial  fidelity,  revivals,  expansion  of 
circuits  taking  in  new  ground,  Sunday-schools,  Christian 
education,  these  were  the  themes  which  absorbed  him.  Of 
them  he  never  wearied.  To  meet  with  a  man  like-minded, 
from  whom  he  could  learn  something,  or  whom  he  could  im- 
press, was  the  joy  and  rejoicing  of  his  heart. 


C  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce. 

These  points  will  all  come  out  in  fuller  development  as 
the  narrative  of  his  life  unfolds.  If  the  telling  of  what  he  was 
and  what  he  did  may  be  made  useful  to  the  great  interests  for 
which  he  labored  so  long,  I  shall  feel  that  I  have  furnished  an 
appropriate  sequel  to  a  noble,  consecrated  life. 

Section  II.— Paki.n  i>. 

Philip  Pierce,  my  grandfather,  whom  I  remember  well, 
a  plain  man,  of  fine  physique,  an  open,  magnetic  face, 
in  repose  with  a  thoughtful,  rather  serious  expression,  but 
when  he  smiled,  radiant  and  beautiful.  He  commanded  the 
reverence  of  his  entire  family  by  the  dignity  of  his  man- 
ner, and  the  instinctive  impression  of  latent  power,  a  pow- 
i  i  to  be  feared,  if  he  were  offended  or  unduly  aroused, 
lie  wis  «i  quiet,  peaceable  man  in  all  the  relations  of  life, 
amiable,  affectionate,  full  of  sympathy,  and  always  ready  to 
work,  but  somehow  deficient  in  those  qualities  which  insure 
success  in  business  pursuits.  He  was  thriftless;  he  never 
prospered  in  the  world,  never  accumulated  property,  he 
never  owned  .  whether  from   poverty   or  conscience   I 

never  knew.  He  had  very  little  education,  but  had  a  vigor- 
ous, incisive  intellect,  one  inclined  to  be  phlegmatic,  needing 
occasion  and  stimulus  for  its  activity.  "The  race  is  not  to 
the  swift,  nor  the  battle  to  the  strong,  nor  yet  bread  to  the 
wise,  neither  riches  to  men  of  understanding,  nor  favor  to 
men  of  skill,  but  time  and  chance  happeneth  to  them  all.'' 
God  governs  the  world  and  dispenses  the  bounties  of  provi- 
dence according  to  his  wise  and  sovereign  will.  The  causes 
of  failure  among  men  are  often  apparent,  easy  to  understand. 
Want  of  judgment,  lack  of  promptness,  irregular  action,  de- 
ficient labor,  attempting  too  much,  all,  or  any  of  these,  entail 
defeat.  Yet  often  quick,  read)-,  strong  men.  wise  men,  men 
of  understanding  are  thwarted,  disappointed,  embarrassed 
all  their  days  by  the  intervention  of  incidents  and  occurrences 
unexpected  and  unmanageable.  The  touch  of  some  men 
will  turn  the  clod  into  gold,  while  another  fails  to  find  it  in  a 


Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  7 

mine.  Making  money  is  a  gift.  Some  are  highly  endowed 
with  it,  and  rapidly  accumulate  fortunes,  while  others  can 
hardly  wring  a  living  by  incessant  toil  out  of  the  most  favor- 
able conditions.  Poverty  (not  pauperism)  seems  to  have  been 
an  heirloom  in  our  generations.  Short  incomes,  meagre  sup- 
port, a  simple,  decent  living  has  been  the  best  we  could  do. 

When  I  first  knew  my  grandfather  he  was  old  and  dis- 
abled, incapable  of  manual  labor,  and  the  family  was  sus- 
tained by  the  needle  of  the  daughters  and  the  pen  of  the 
youngest  son.  The  two  older  sons  and  two  of  the  daughters 
were  married  and  had  families  of  their  own,  and  lived  far 
away.  All  the  circumstances  of  the  house  were  humble,  but 
the  members  were  honest  and  industrious,  and  were  recog- 
nized respectfully  by  the  best  society.  The  youngest  brother, 
Everett  Hamilton  Pierce,  was  a  Secretary  in  the  Executive 
Department  of  the  State  of  Georgia,  under  Troup,  Forsyth, 
and  Gilmer. 

Lydia  Pierce,  the  mother,  was  a  rare  woman,  of  small 
stature  and  delicate  organization,  and  in  her  youth  of  great 
beauty.  My  father  greatly  resembled  her  in  head  and  face. 
She  had  a  bright  black  eye,  brilliant  at  fourscore,  an  open 
brow  of  unusual  height  and  configuration  for  a  woman,  and  a 
mind  quick,  sharp,  humorous,  ready  in  repartee,  and  capable 
of  pungent  expression.  Her  education  was  scanty,  and  her 
reading  limited  largely  to  the  Bible.  She  thought  pro- 
foundly and  expressed  herself  with  great  propriety.  From 
her  I  think  my  father  derived  both  his  moral  and  mental 
qualities.  The  husband  died  in  a  good  old  age,  but  she  sur- 
vived him  many  years.  Perhaps  my  father's  longevity,  his 
wonderful  power  of  endurance,  came  also  from  the  maternal 
side.  The  whole  family  were  intellectual,  quick  to  learn, 
comprehending  facts  and  principles  readily.  Dr.  Pierce  says 
of  them  : 

"  My  father  and  mother  were  sprightly  and  affable,  cheer- 
ful and  happy.  They  were  of  that  class  of  poor  people 
whose  views  and  feelings  in  points  of  propriety  always  be- 
longed to  the  higher  order  of  aspirations  and  views.     From 


8  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce. 

them  we  inhaled  only  pure  and  lofty  aspirations  in  as  far  as 
incentives  to  any  human  virtue  were  involved. 

"  They  were  models  of  industry.  That  work  was  honor- 
able, as  it  was  necessary  and  useful,  was  an  axiom  in  our 
house,  and  the  precious  leaven  of  it  has,  in  a  good  degree, 
leavened  the  whole  lump.  There  has  never  been  one  of  our 
blood  that  was  constitutionally  lazy.  I  am  glad  1  was  born 
of  working  parents."     The  Bishop  continues  : 

"  The  Rev.  Lovick  Pierce  was  born  on  March  24,  1785, 
in  Halifax  County,  N.  C.  lie  was  the  son  of  Philip  and 
Lydia  Pierce,  and  was,  I  believe,  the  fifth  child  in  a  family 
of  nine — three  sons  and  six  daughters.  Of  his  ancestry 
very  little  is  known  ;  the  tradition  is  that  two  brothers,  per- 
haps three,  came  to  this  country  from  England,  Two  settled 
in  the  North  and  one  came  South.  Of  him  (the  grandfather) 
nothing  is  known.  Philip,  the  son,  married  Miss  Lydia  Cul- 
pepper   in    Portsmouth,   \'a.     The  young  couple  settled   on 

moke  River,  in  Halifax  Count}-,  N.  C.  The  family  was 
humble,  poor,  and  lived  by  personal  daily  labor.  The  ab- 
sence of  all  records,  memoranda,  and  traditions  indicate  the 
obscurity  of  all  who  had  borne  the  name  and  the  hopeless  res- 
ignation of  their  descendants  to  their  seemingly  destined  lot. 
While  my  father  was  yet  a  boy,  the  family  removed  to 
Barnwell  District,  S.  C,  and  located  on  Tinker's  Creek, 
about  twenty  miles  below  Augusta,  Ga.  The  country  was 
new,    sp  -ttlcd,   and    society  ignorant,  rude,   and   vic- 

ious. The  streams  were  full  of  fish  and  the  woods  abound- 
ed with  game,  especially  deer.  I  have  heard  my  father  say 
that  he  had  often  seen  forty  and  fifty  wagons  pass  his  home, 
all  laden  with  deerskins,  en  route  to  Charleston.  Venison, 
horns,  and  hides  were  the  staple  articles  for  trade  and  barter. 
Hunting  was  the  chief  occupation  of  men  and  boys.  Agri- 
culture was  largely  limited  to  bread-corn.  The  cotton  patch, 
though  a  necessity  in  family  use,  was  a  small  affair.  The  cot- 
ton, when  picked,  was  relieved  of  the  seed  by  the  fingers  of 
the  women  and  children  as  they  sat  around  the  fireside  by 
night.     The  lint  was  then  carded,  spun,  wove,  and  dyed,  all'at 


Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  9 

home.  Out  of  the  material  thus  provided  the  family  were 
clad.  This  was  common  among  the  people,  indeed  an  uni- 
versal custom  ;  cotton  was  not  raised  for  market  at  all.  What 
a  revolution  the  cotton-gin  has  made  !  General  living  was 
rough  but  easy.  The  streams  and  the  forest  supplied  the 
meat,  and  the  virgin  soil  responded  generously  to  the  plough 
and  the  hoe.  Wants  were  few  and  simple,  and  both  the 
labors  and  pastimes  of  the  people  allowed  ample  leisure  for 
social  life.  Reddick  Pierce  was  two  years  older  than  his 
brother  Lovick,  but  they  grew  up  together,  companions  in 
sport  and  toil,  very  unlike  in  person  and  mental  characteristics, 
and  yet  wedded  to  each  other  in  indissoluble  fellowship.  Of 
course  they  fell  in  with  the  manners,  customs,  and  habits  of 
the  settlement  in  which  they  dwelt.  Both  became  experts  in 
the  use  of  the  gun.  In  this  Lovick  excelled,  especially  in  the 
use  of  the  rifle,  which  was  his  favorite  instrument,  even  down 
to  old  age.  When  I  was  a  boy  his  exploits  in  this  line,  were 
marvellous  to  me,  nor  did  this  cunning  forsake  his  hand  un- 
til his  eye  waxed  dim. 

"  In  those  days  the  waters  were  translucent,  and  gigging 
trout  by  torchlight  was  a  favorite  sport.  I  have  heard  these 
brothers  tell  of  their  adventures  by  day  and  night,  and  the 
memories  of  those  simple  times  seemed  to  refresh  them  un- 
der the  burdens  of  manhood's  middle  day,  and  even  when 
hoary  hairs  had  crowned  their  honored  heads.  Hunting, 
fishing,  working  in  the  field,  filled  up  the  time.  Of  books, 
there  were  none ;  the  newspaper  was  a  thing  unknown ; 
schools  were  few  and  far  between,  and  of  lowest  grade. 
There  was  no  stimulus  to  thought,  no  outlet  for  ambition  ; 
and  mind  and  energy  could  only  expand  themselves  in  chan- 
nels which  barred  all  improvement,  and  left  the  young  to 
renew  and  perpetuate  the  history  of  the  old.  The  state  of 
religion  conformed  to  the  existing  order  of  things.  It  might 
be  an  interesting  question,  whether  the  social  status  was  de- 
termined by  the  prevalent  type  of  religion,  or  whether  the 
type  of  religion  inspired  and  shaped  the  social  condition  of 
the  people.     The  influence  was  doubtless  reciprocal.      The 


10  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce. 

history  of  the  times  is  so  scanty  as  to  leave  us  in  doubt  as 
to  which  priority  belongs  in  the  way  of  an  active  mould- 
ing agency.  Society  was,  however,  homogeneous.  Public 
opinion  was  a  compound  of  ignorance,  superstition,  and 
bigotry.  The  ministers  of  the  Gospel  gloried  in  their  igno- 
rance, because  knowledge  was  considered  a  bar  to  that  in- 
spiration which  they  claimed  for  their  pulpit  performances. 
The  people,  benighted  by  their  superstitions,  accepted  with- 
out inquiry  the  deliverances  of  their  teachers  as  the  dicta  of 
the  Holy  Spirit.  15 • » tli  parties,  well  satisfied  with  themselves 
and  their  creed,  became  exclusive,  malignant,  and  rejoicing 
in  what  they  esteemed  a  goodly  heritage  ;  felt  no  pity  for 
others  less  favored,  and  repelled  with  violence  and  scorn 
every  intimation  of  a  better  way.  Hence  the  introduction  of 
Methodism,  an  antipodal  system  in  doctrine,  spirit,  and  prac- 
tice, was  the  signal  for  the  bitterest,  most  unrelenting  perse- 
cution. In  this  better  day  we  have  no  conception  of  the 
hate,  the  denunciation,  the  vengeance  which  was  stirred  up. 
All  the  vials  of  wrath  were  uncorked  and  the  contents  emp- 
tied, with  hands  and  tongues  that  never  slacked,  upon  the  vile 
heretical  intruders.  The  Primitive  Baptists,  better  known  as 
'Hard  Shells,'  then  as  now  distinguished  by  all  that  is 
peculiar  ami  distinctive  in  that  denomination,  dominated  the 
country.  They  held  and  preached  the  boldest  ironclad  Cal- 
vinism. Predestination;  absolute,  universal,  eternal  election; 
hopeless  reprobation,  and  immersion  and  final  perseverance — 
these  were  the  points  in  every  discourse,  and  the  staple  of 
general  conversation.  They  accepted  this  stern  theology 
with  all  its  logical  sequences.  Imputed  righteousness  was 
substituted  for  personal  morality  and  obedience.  Immersion 
was  the  sign  and  seal  of  election.  If  sin  defiled  their  profes- 
sion, they  charged  the  act  upon  'the  flesh,'  for  which  they 
claimed  a  large  indulgence  as  one  of  the  privileges  of  the 
saints.  The  knowledge  of  sins  forgiven  they  denounced  as  pre- 
sumptuous phariseeism.  The  witness  of  the  Spirit  they  ignored 
and  denied,  both  as  a  doctrine  and  an  experience.  Drunken- 
ness was  a  vice  common  to  the  clergy  and  the  Church,  and  the 


i      v'D(DK  [POETCKotDo  QDc 


Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  11 

privilege  of  drinking  liquor  at  will  was  asserted  to  be  a 
natural  and  constitutional  right,  inalienable  and  most  pre- 
cious. The  physical  effects  in  those  days  were  not  so  sudden 
and  pernicious  as  now,  when  men  are  drinking  the  vile  com- 
pounds of  the  chemist  and  the  fraudulent  manufacturer,  but 
the  moral  effects  were  gross  and  degrading.  The  militia 
muster,  twice  in  the  year,  was  the  great  holiday,  when  the 
people  gathered  en  masse ;  then  liquor  flowed  freely,  and  the 
scene  was  enlivened  by  fist  and  skull  battles,  which  multiplied 
as  the  hours  passed  on,  and  the  day  wound  up  oftentimes  in 
a  general  melee  of  the  drinking  and  the  drunken. 

' '  None  of  my  father's  family  were  members  of  the  Church. 
All,  however,  from  the  force  of  their  surroundings,  affiliated 
with  the  sentiments  and  prejudices  of  the  Baptists.  My  grand- 
father, whom  I  remember  very  well,  was  a  quiet  man,  reti- 
cent in  conversation  and  inclined  to  repose,  but  capable,  when 
roused,  of  intense  excitement  and  of  bitter  prejudice.  The 
stagnation  of  thought  and  sensibility  which  resulted  from 
an  extreme  Calvinistic  theology  harmonized  with  his  leading 
characteristics,  and  he  resisted  and  resented  all  disturbance. 
Hence  when  the  Methodist  preachers  came  along  with  '  an- 
other gospel,'  with  new  ideas,  with  intense  personal  appeals, 
dealing  much  in  the  terrors  of  the  Lord  and  calling  upon 
every  man  to  work  out  his  own  salvation,  he  was  stirred  with 
a  hearty  indignation.  They  outraged  his  notions,  spoiled  his 
creed,  disturbed  his  self-satisfied  rest.  He  became  very 
hostile  in  his  feelings,  and  for  a  long  season  refused  to  hear 
them  at  all.  The  family,  however,  were  put  under  no  inter- 
dict. 

"The  first  Methodist  sermon  my  father  ever  heard  was  de- 
livered by  Rev.  James  Jenkins.  He  was  a  son  of  thunder,  and 
preached  a  gospel  of  fire  and  power.  Under  that  sermon 
Reddick  and  Lovick  Pierce  were  awakened.  Who  can  esti- 
mate the  results  of  that  day's  work  ?  How  little  the  preacher 
knew  of  the  good  he  had  done  !  Just  then  there  was  nothing 
visible  to  distinguish  the  scene  from  what  was  common  in 
the  daily  experience  of  these  early  preachers  :  a  log-house,  a 


12  Life  (iiui  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce. 

congregation  of  poor,  obscure  people  ;  an  unlettered  preacher, 
but  full  of  zeal  and  faith,  expecting  the  presence  and  unction 
of  the  Holy  Ghost  upon  the  word,  the  power  of  God  re- 
vealed in  awakening  and  conversion.  This  seemed  to  be  all, 
and  this  was  the  history  of  wellnigh  every  day.  No  man 
could  forecast  the  possibilities  of  the  future.  Yet  out  of  that 
little  humble  woodland  throng  came  two  ministers,  men  of 
might,  one  of  whom  lived  to  preach  the  Gospel  for  fifty,  and 
the  other  for  seventy-four  years." 

Dr.  Pierce  says,  in  his  recollections:  "  We  were  both  awa- 
kened to  a  sense  of  sin;  both  proceeded  right  on  in  the  search 
of  religion,  both  obtained  it,  and  both  became  itinerant  Meth- 
odist preachers  ;  were  both  admitted  on  trial  the  same  day 
in  Charleston,  S.  C,  during  Christmas  holidays  in  Decem- 
ber, 1804.  I  suppose  we  were  the  first  young  men  ever 
known  in  those  days  to  become  religious,  and — especially  un- 
der Methodist  views  of  religion — to  aim  to  live  without  sinning. 

"  I  joined  the  Church  in  the  summer  of  1802.  The  circuit 
under  the  care  of  Thomas  Darlcy,  assisted  by  John  Camp- 
bell. Campbell  took  me  in,  my  father  and  mother  and  oldest 
sister  having  joined  three  weeks  before,  under  Darley.  I 
converted  in  August,  1S03,  Darley  on  the  circuit.  On 
that  day  was  seen  the  introduction  of  that  moral  power  that 
characterized  the  first  decade  of  the  century — the  sudden 
falling  down  of  sinners  as  the  first  sign  of  conviction,  which 
event  almost  always  issued  in  a  clear  and  manifest  conversion. 
I  was  never  the  subject  of  this  power  only  in  a  limited  degree." 

The  Bishop  says  :  "After  I  entered  the  ministry  and  was 
stationed  in  Charleston,  I  occasionally  met  'Jimmy  Jenkins,' 
as  he  was  familiarly  called.  He  was  then  old,  broken  down, 
superannuate  ;  but  the  fire  of  his  youth  still  burned  in  his 
bones.  lie  commonly  declined  to  preach  in  the  city,  but 
would  conclude  service  with  prayer.  And  such  praying! 
Soul,  voice,  strength,  all  went  in.  The  sound  was  as  the 
roar  of  a  tempest,  ablaze  with  lightning,  and  pealing  with 
thunder.  I  gazed  upon  the  old  man  with  a  holy  awe,  and 
felt  that  his  speech  was  a  benediction.       He  was  one  of  '  the 


Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  13 

thundering  legion'  who  saved  this  country  from  French 
atheism  and  from  the  debauchery  of  universal  dissipation. 
All  honor  to  the  fiery  old  saint,  whose  courage  and  fidelity, 
whose  faith  and  zeal  pioneered  the  Church  in  the  wilderness, 
and  helped  to  bring  her  into  '  a  large  and  wealthy  place,' 
a  goodly  heritage  of  honor,  influence,  and  usefulness. 

"The  brothers — young,  ignorant,  without  books  or  exam- 
ples or  instructors — wandered  long  in  darkness.  Under  deep 
conviction  for  sin,  they  could  only  weep  and  pray.  Lovick 
was  in  his  sixteenth  year.  Reddick  was  two  years  older. 
But  neither  could  help  the  other.  How  they  longed  for  the 
preacher  to  come  again,  that  he  might  tell  them  words  where- 
by they  could  be  saved.  They  were  strictly  what  the  old 
Methodists  called  '  mourners. '  Under  deep  conviction, 
afraid  of  God,  upbraided  by  their  own  conscience,  isolated, 
forlorn — what  a  blessing  an  intelligent  believer,  who  had 
himself  passed  through  the  process  of  salvation,  would  have 
been  to  these  weary,  wretched  penitents  !  In  all  the  range 
of  their  acquaintance,  none  such  were  to  be  found.  They 
fasted,  they  wept,  they  prayed,  and  communed  in  the  soli- 
tude of  the  troubles  peculiar  to  themselves.  The  preacher 
was  off  on  his  circuit,  and  no  sympathizing  friend  was  at  hand 
to  guide  their  doubtful,  tottering  steps.  But  they  tottered  on, 
tempted,  cast-down,  ready  to  faint,  yet  resolved.  Reddick, 
after  months  of  struggle,  was  the  first  to  find  deliverance. 
Lovick  wandered  on  in  darkness  for  near  two  years.  Strange 
to  say,  I  never  heard  my  father  relate  his  experience  in  its 
details.  Nothing  more  than  general  statements  did  I  ever 
hear  from  him  either  in  private  talk  or  public  discourse. 
Modesty  and  reserve  marked  all  his  communications  when 
himself  was  the  theme.  He  never  magnified  his  attainments 
in  grace  under  the  guise  of  professing  what  the  Lord  had 
done  for  him.  A  low  view  of  his  religious  condition  was  com- 
mon to  him  through  all  the  stages  of  his  long  life.  The  explana- 
tion is,  not  that  he  walked  in  darkness,  or  lived  irregularly, 
or  fluctuated  in  desire  or  purpose  or  enjoyment,  but  that  he 
was   always  conscious  of  the  disparity  between  what  he  was 


14  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce. 

and  his  ideal  conception  of  a  pure  and  perfect  Christianity. 
He  said  to  me  once,  in  a  free  conversation,  speaking  of  his 
life  and  labors,  'After  all,  in  looking  to  the  future,  I 
stand  abashed  at  the  thought  of  the  holiness  of  God,'  and 
added,  '  Watson's  dying  declaration  that  he  felt  like  "  a 
worm  crawling  into  the  presence  of  his  Maker,"  expresses 
the  view  and  the  feeling  ever  present  with  me.'  Mere 
is  the  key  to  this  comparative  silence  about  what  he  felt  or 
had  attained.  He  was  dumb,  but  his  light  shined  and  was  its 
own  interpreter.  If  he  shouted  in  the  fulness  of  his  rapt- 
ure, as  he  often  did,  no  one  who  knew  him  felt  surprise,  as 
if  a  strange  thing  had  come  to  pass.  It  was  not  inconsistent 
with  his  life  and  spirit  and  conversation.  It  was  not  an  annex 
to  his  character — something  added  fur  a  purpose  and  a  time — 
but  the  legitimate  outgrowth.  It  was  the  well  of  living  water 
rising  up  to  everlasting  life.  Everybody  felt  that  'praise 
was  comely  for  the  upright.'  That  long,  mellow  shout  of 
his,  so  full  of  soul  and  hope  and  heaven,  can  never  be  for- 
gotten by  those  who  heard  it.  I  heard  Dr.  Eew  once  say, 
'There  was  a  thrill  and  power  in  it  which  belonged  to  no 
other  human   sound.' 

"  In  the  outset  of  his  religious  life  there  were  occasional 
clouds  upon  his  sky.  Assurance  flickered.  The  young  con- 
vert had  not  learned  to  discriminate  his  own  mental  mo. 
A  little  abatement  of  feeling,  the  absence  of  positive  con- 
scious joy,  alarmed  and  distressed  him,  albeit  there  had  been 
no  neglect  of  duty  and  no  commission  of  sin.  He  never 
doubted  his  conversion,  but  sometimes  mourned  the  loss  of 
grace  as  some  flitting  shadow  fell  upon  his  spirit.  This  ten- 
derness and  apprehension  arc,  after  all,  moral  safeguards. 
They  are  not  to  be  depreciated,  certainly  not  rudely  crushed. 
They  need  intelligent  regulation,  and  then  they  become  both 
healthy  stimulants  and,  at  need,  wholesome  restraints. 

"  The  conversion  of  these  boys  was  the  first  great  quick- 
ening impulse  in  my  grandfather's  household.  This  gracious 
event  changed  the  whole  current  of  thought.  New  ideas  of 
life,  this  life,  religious  life,  and   the  life  to  come,  came  like 


Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  15 

rain  upon  thirsty  soil.  It  was  the  agitation  of  a  stagnant 
atmosphere.  The  change  inspired  hope,  roused  ambition, 
and  projected  life-plans  upon  a  higher  plane.  The  family 
was  brought  into  new  associations  with  better  people,  a 
higher  class — higher,  not  in  finances  and  culture,  but  in  morals, 
sentiments — a  better  creed  and  of  purer  life.  One  by  one  the 
parents  and  the  sisters  came  into  the  Church,  the  father,  I 
think,  last  of  all.  These  boy-converts  became  active  workers 
in  the  Church  straightway.  Reddick  was  soon  licensed  as  an 
exhorter;  Lovick  was  appointed  class-leader  in  the  little 
society  to  which  they  belonged.  The  Hard  Shells  had 
denounced  the  Methodists  as  heretics,  false  prophets,  de- 
ceivers of  the  people,  sorcerers  who  flung  their  spells  upon 
all  who  came  near  them,  and  the  excitements  which  attended 
their  meetings  as  wildfire  enthusiasm,  hypocrisy — all  more  to 
be  dreaded  than  the  frogs  of  Egypt.  With  a  full  knowledge 
of  what  they  might  expect,  on  a  certain  Sabbath  the  brothers 
went  with  the  family  to  one  of  the  monthly  meetings  at 
the  old  accustomed  place.  The  preacher  was  an  old  man, 
greatly  admired  and  beloved  by  his  people,  an  oracle  of  wis- 
dom in  their  estimation.  As  usual,  Methodism  was  the  tar- 
get of  all  his  arrows  ;  they  flew  thick  and  fast,  barbed  and. 
poisoned.  When  he  had  delivered  his  message  he  concluded 
by  remarking  that  if  anyone  in  the  congregation  wished  to 
add  a  word,  the  privilege  would  be  allowed  them.  For  a 
moment  silence  reigned,  when  the  older  brotheY,  to  the  utter 
consternation  of  the  younger,  rose  and  commenced  a  fiery 
exhortation.  He  spoke  with  all  the  fervor  of  his  first  love, 
feeling  that  Providence  and  the  Spirit  had  furnished  the 
opportunity  and  called  him  to  work  for  the  Master  and  for 
souls.  With  close-shut  eyes,  as  if  he  would  hide  from  his 
vision  all  that  might  embarrass  him,  and  with  stentorian  voice 
he  poured  out  the  terrors  of  the  law  and  the  invitations  of  the 
Gospel.  Soon  the  power  of  God  came  upon  the  people,  and 
they  fell  from  their  seats  till  the  floor  was  covered  with  their 
prostrate  bodies.  Screams  and  prayers  and  shouts  from  the 
awestruck  crowd  mingled  in  wild  confusion.     The  voice  of 


16  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce. 

the  speaker,  unbroken,  rung  clear  and  distinct  above  the 
roar  of  the  multitude.  Many  leaped  out  at  the  windows  and 
fled  in  dismay.  The  exercises  went  on  till  the  slant  shadows 
of  the  evening  grew  long  and  warned  them  of  approaching 
night.  When  the  storm  had  lulled  and  the  old  preacher  was 
about  to  retire,  he  rose,  wiping  his  eyes,  and  said  :  '  Well, 
brethren,  we  have  seen  strange  things  to-day,  and  I  can  but 
own  the  presence  of  God.'  This  scene  was  inexplicable  by 
any  of  the  cant  theories  then  current.  A  beardless  boy,  one 
of  themselves,  a  neighbor's  son,  well  known  among  them,  had 
come  right  into  their  camp,  their  own  meeting-house,  on  the 
of  service,  and,  in  the  presence  of  their  venerable 
minister,  by  a  few  words  of  exhortation  had  enacted  the 
same  scenes  which  they  had  ascribed  to  witchcraft.  The 
spirit  of  persecution  was  scotched,  though  not  killed.  New 
friends  were  found,  for  fresh  converts  were  made. 

"  This  incident  illustrates  the  difference  in  temperament 
of  the  brothers.  Of  this  I  wiil  write  more  full}-  in  another 
chapter.  As  the  history  runs  on,  several  things  will  serve  to 
show  how  unlike  they  were,  but  dissimilarity  never  interrupted 
their  fellowship  or  diluted  their  brotherly  affection." 

Lovick  Pierce's  com  f  which  the  Bishop  writes  so 

charmingly,  occurred  in  those   remarkable  days   of  the  first 

ide  of  this  century.  A  revival  of  religion,  or  rather  a  great 
awakening,  such  as  had  never  been  seen  before  or  since  in 
America,  was  in  its  full  tide.  Dr.  Pierce  told  me  that,  on  the 
day  he  found  comfort  in  a  conscious  faith,  his  emotions  were 
intense  and  uncontrollable.  He  felt  as  if  he  was  sinking 
through  the  floor,  and  when  he  found  the  Saviour  nigh,  his 
emotions  of  joy  were  alike  intense.  He  had  his  hours  of 
darkness  a  few  days  after  this,  but  at  last  he  settled  down  into 
a  calm  serenity  of  religious  life.  This  continued  for  some 
time,  when  the  impression  that  he  was  called  to  preach  be- 
came very  decided.  He,  from  early  boyhood,  before  he  had 
been  converted,  had  thought  he  was  to  be  a  preacher.  He 
would  sometimes  find  himself  preaching  as  he  was  walking 
alone,  and  was  sometimes  so  carried  away  by  his  feelings  as 


MRS.   LOVICK    PIERCE. 


Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  17 

to  be  overwhelmed  with  weeping.  After  his  conversion,  he 
felt  he  must  preach.  He  resisted  the  call  for  nearly  two 
years,  and  his  religious  peace  disappeared.  He  said  to  him- 
self: "I  am  not  called  ;  I  am  too  ignorant."  "It  never 
entered  into  my  mind,"  he  said  afterward,  "  that  a  call  to 
preach  is  a  call  to  prepare."     He  adds  : 

"  But,  after  all  my  well-grounded  apprehensions  and  with- 
ering fears,  I  was  led  out  by  the  Spirit  and  became  a  preach- 
er.    The  following  was  the  process  : 

"  My  pastor,  Rev.  Thomas  Darley,  knowing  my  trouble 
of  mind,  gave  me  of  his  own  accord  a  license  to  exhort,  and 
appointed  me  class-leader  at  a  new  preaching-place  twelve 
miles  from  my  father's.  The  people  all  concluded  I  was  a 
preacher,  and  so  announced  me,  and  on  my  first  appointment, 
when  I  reached  the  place — it  was  a  private  house — every  hole 
and  corner  was  a  jam  of  people.  My  father  was  a  military 
officer — militia,  of  course — and  my  brother  and  myself  had  ac- 
companied him  to  so  many  large  military  parades,  for  in  those 
days  militia  musters  used  to  be  as  regular,  and  nearly  as  cer- 
tain, as  the  changes  of  the  moon,  that  Ave  had  become  widely 
known,  and  the  report  that  the  son  of  Captain  Pierce  would 
preach  at  this  place  was  enough  to  bring  out  all  the  country, 
and  so  it  did.  I  was  never  in  such  a  fright  in  all  my  life.  I 
halted,  tried  to  pray,  wallowed  on  the  clean  grass,  afraid  to 
go  back  and  give  it  up,  and  felt  as  if  to  face  the  crowd  as  a 
preacher  was  more  than  flesh  and  blood  could  endure.  I 
cried  to  God  for  help  and  direction,  until  I  must  go  in  or  give 
it  up.  I  did  go  in,  and  that  day  sealed  my  destiny  as  to 
preaching.  I  read  a  lesson,  sang  a  hymn,  and  exhorted,  all 
of  which  consumed  about  thirty  minutes.  I  left  without  din- 
ner, because  my  mind  was  so  agitated  that  all  desire  for  food 
was  gone  ;  and  now  my  mind  was  plied  with  the  very  natural 
temptation  that  I  had  done  wrong,  because  my  religious  com- 
forts were  all  wasted,  in  my  long  refusal  to  obey  my  impres- 
sions to  preach  ;  Satan  himself  now  admitted  that  there  had 
been  a  time  when  I  might  have  done  it,  but  that  now  I  had 
sinned  away  the   Spirit  and  could  not  rightfully  do  it.     In 


18  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce, 

this  perplexed  state  of  mind,  I  said  in  my  heart  as  unto 
God,  I  will  fill  my  next  appointment,  and  if  there  is  any  sign 
of  the  divine  approval  I  will  never  ask  for  any  other  sign  of 
assurance  that  it  i>  my  duty  to  preach.  I  went  at  the  time, 
and  the  Lord  came  down  in  mighty  power,  and  in  a  few 
weeks  nearly  every  family  in  the  settlement  was  in  the  Church. 
I  kept  my  promise,  and  have  never  doubted  my  call  to  preach 
from  that  day  to  thi 

We  return  to  the  Bishop's  manuscript. 

"Of  course,  under  the  circumstances  I  have  outlined,  the 
education  of  the  children  was  scant}-.  My  father  told  me 
that  lie  never  went  to  school  but  six  months  in  his  life.  The 
two  older  boys  bad  t<>  work   with  their  father  in  the  field  to 

.  iile  support  for  the  numerous  household.  This  necessity 
pressed  upon  them  up  to  the  time  they  entered  upon  their 
itinerant  career.  Their  minds  were  greatly  stimulated  by 
their  conversion  and  their  call  to  the  ministry.  Their  reading 
confined  to  such  the  preachers  brought  along 

and  sold  to  the  people.  These  were  better  adapted  to  quick- 
!id  deepen  their  piety  than  to  enlarge   their   intellectual 

.derated  to  Christ,  and  availed 
themseh  I  of  improvement  their  case  af- 

forded.     Circuit-preaching,  quarterly  meetings,  camp-mcet- 

s  were  all  great  oc  .  and  embraced  with  eager  delight. 

I  have  heard  him  say  that  often,  after  ploughing  all  day  and 
hastening  home  to  feed  the  stock,  his  brother  and  himself, 
without  waiting  for  supper,  would  run  five  miles  to  attend  a 
prayer-meeting.  This  they  did  without  a  thought  of  sacrifice 
or  hardship.  Such  zeal  marked  the  converts  of  those  days. 
They  were  not  held  to  duty  by  arbitrary  rules,  nor  [ashed  on 
by  a  scrupulous  fanatical  conscience,  but  were  swept  along  by 
the  fervid  impulses  of  a  new  nature,  athirst  for  God,  and  as- 
sured of  a  joyful  interview  with  Christ,  whenever  his  people 
met  together.  They  found  their  highest  enjoyment  in  the 
communion  of  saints  and  in  those  labors  by  which  sinners 
were  brought  back  to  God.  Weariness  was  all  forgotten  in 
sympathy  with  the  shout  of  a  new-born. soul.     Personal  incon- 


Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  19 

venience  was  not  to  be  taken  into  account  when  an  opportu- 
nity offered  to  bear  witness  for  Jesus  by  presence  and  service, 
or  to  pluck  a  brand  from  the  burning  by  direct  appeal  or  by 
co-operation  with  the  Church.  I  do  not  say  the  former  days 
were  better  than  these,  but  the  loss  of  this  prompt,  active, 
self-denying  element  in  religious  life  is  greatly  to  be  deplored. 
Indeed,  when  the  love  of  Christ  does  not  constrain  and  impel 
to  effort,  to  sacrifice,  to  yearning  for  the  salvation  of  others, 
I  confess  my  inability  to  reconcile  the  absence  of  this  power 
with  a  sound,  safe  conversion.  If  the  modern  Church  has 
not  fallen  away  from  Bible  teaching  and  example  and  from 
the  experience  and  practice  of  primitive  Methodism,  then  I 
have  strangely  erred  in  my  conceptions  of  what  religion  was, 
and  is,  and  ought  to  be.  Culture,  worldliness,  imperious 
fashion,  an  artificial  social  life,  have  all  come  in  to  modify  and 
repress  the  normal  action  of  a  simple,  hearty,  earnest  piety,  un- 
til the  imperfect  movements  of  the  Church  resemble  the  tot- 
tering steps  of  a  Chinese  woman  whose  feet  have  been  com- 
pressed until  they  are  incapable  of  their  natural  functions. 
The  evil  is  irreparable  in  the  one  case ;  whether  there  is  a 
remedy  for  the  other  is  a  question  that  must  be  referred  to 
divine  power.  Natural  laws  and  agencies  can  never  work 
out  the  readjustment  of  purposes,  principles,  and  habits  in- 
dispensable to  restoration.  A  pure,  unadulterated  revival  of 
pure  religion,  free,  courageous,  independent,  even  defiant  of 
the  criticisms  of  modern  civilization,  is  the  great  want  of  the 
times,  and  nothing  short  of  it  will  save  the  Church  from 
ritualism,  decay,  and  death,  or  the  country  from  corruption 
and  a  gross,  licentious  infidelity.  My  father's  old  age  was 
burdened  and  grieved  on  account  of  the  defection  of  the 
Methodists,  as  he  thought,  from  the  strict  morality  and  spiritual 
duties  enjoined  by  the  General  Rules  as  compiled  by  Wesley 
and  endorsed  by  American  Methodism  in  her  Book  of  Dis- 
cipline. 

"  About  this  time  the  family  moved  from  South  Carolina  to 
Georgia,  and  settled  on  Buffalo  Creek,  in  Washington  County. 
From  this  point    Reddick  and  Lovick  Pierce  started  upon 


20  Life  iiiui  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce. 

their  long  itinerant  career.  They  were  admitted  on  trial  in  the 
South  Carolina  Conference  in  December,  1804.  The  confer- 
ence territory  embraced  a  Large  part  of  North  Carolina,  all  of 
South  Carolina,  and  all  the  settled  portions  of  Georgia  and 
Florida.  Not  long  before  his  death  I  asked  my  father 
when  and  by  whom  he  was  licensed  to  preach.  Smiling,  he 
answered  :  '  You  will  be  astonished  when  I  tell  you  I  never 
had  any  license  to  preach,  except  the  appearance  of  my 
name  on  the  conference  minutes.  I  was  simply  an  exhorter 
when  the  Quarterly  Conference  recommended  me  for  ad- 
011  trial.  I  never  had  any  other  authority  but  my 
reception,  and  my  appointment,  till  I  was  ordained  a  deacon.' 
The  brothers  were  both  received  at  Charleston,  neither  of 
them  being  present.  The  present  rule  was  not  then  in  opera- 
ti  >n.  Rcddick  was  -  at  I  1  Little  River  Circuit,  and  Lovick 
fo  Pedee.  When  notified  of  their  appointments,  they  went 
forth  very  much  like  Abraham,  not  knowing  whither.  They 
had  never  travelled,  were  ignorant  of  the  geography  of  the 
country,  and  had  very  indefinite  ideas  either  of  places  or 
routes.  With  the  scanty  outfit  of  a  Methodist  preacher. 
purses  li  igh  to  be  easily  handled,   saddened  by  their 

first  home  and  friends,  embarrassed  by  their 

ignorance  of  the  world,  and  oppressed  by  the  tremendous 
responsibility  of  their  mission,  they  wandered  on,  each  to  his 
appointed  place.  After  several  days  of  gloomy  riding,  late 
one  evening  Lovick  called  at  a  country-house  and  asked  for  a 
night's  lodging.  He  was  kindly  received.  On  entering  the 
house  he  found  quite  a  company  gathered  about  a  glowing  fire. 
The  weather  was  cold  and  he  had  been  exposed  all  day,  but, 
feeling  the  awkwardness  of  a  raw  country-boy  in  the  presence 
of  strangers,  he  took  a  seat  outside  the  circle  and  held  it  all 
the  evening.  After  family  prayer  and  the  retreat  of  some  of 
the  company,  and  others  about  retiring  to  bed,  the  man  of 
the  house  came  to  him  and  said.  '  Are  you  not  a  preacher  ?  ' 
He  answered  affirmatively.  '  I  expect  you  are  the  young 
man  sent  to  our  circuit  this  year  ?  '  '  My  name  is  Pierce, 
and  I  am  trying  to  find  the  Pedee  Circuit.'     •  Well,   you  are 


Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  21 

in  it  now.  Your  appointment  was  at  Prospect,  not  far  from 
here,  to-day,  but  you  did  not  come,  and  we  had  a  prayer-meet- 
ing and  dispersed.  To-morrow  you  are  expected  at  Smyrna, 
five  miles  from  here.  I  and  my  family  are  all  Methodists 
and  we  will  go  with  you  and  show  you  the  way.'  This  was 
cheery  information.  The  goal  was  reached  and  the  opening 
was  propitious.  Relieved  of  anxiety,  the  long  journey  ended, 
the  young  itinerant,  composed  and  happy,  lay  down  to  rest. 
The  next  day  he  inaugurated  the  longest  term  of  effective 
service  in  the  annals  of  Methodism.  God  was  eminently  with 
his  young  servant  that  day.  The  sermon,  I  expect,  was  a 
fervid  exhortation,  but  there  was  power  in  it,  saving  power, 
and  the  service  ended  with  eight  nezv  converts  !  Is  it  won- 
derful that  this  young,  inexperienced,  simple-hearted  preacher 
was  somewhat  elated  and  overrated  himself?  Not  realizing 
the  source  of  his  strength,  the  cause  of  his  efficiency,  he 
vainly  thought  to-morrow  will  be  as  to-day,  and  the  year  an 
unbroken  success.  To-morrow  came,  and  with  it  darkness, 
confusion,  defeat !  For  several  days  no  light,  or  freedom,  or 
power.  Now  came  despondency,  humiliation,  shame,  terror, 
heart-searching.  A  great  lesson  was  learned.  '  Not  by 
might  or  by  power,  but  by  my  spirit,  saith  the  Lord. '  '  With- 
out me  ye  can  do  nothing.'  Every  preacher  knows  this  theo- 
retically, but  it  is  not  always  a  conscious  fact.  To  feel  it  con- 
sciously, profoundly,  is  a  high  and  gracious  attainment.  None 
but  a  holy  man  filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost  and  faith  can  keep 
the  feeling  ever  present,  always  controlling.  The  subtle  de- 
ceitfulness  of  the  human  heart,  in  spite  of  conviction,  knowl- 
edge, and  experience,  will  occasionally,  nay,  frequently  will, 
betray  any  other  into  vanity  and  conceit.  With  advancing 
knowledge  the  temptation,  I  fear,  grows  stronger,  the  tendency 
more  impelling  and  less  alarming.  When  a  man,  however 
good,  with  small  brain,  little  instruction,  and  general  igno- 
rance feels,  as  he  sometimes  may,  the  inflation  of  this  vanity, 
this  conceit  of  self,  a  sober  second  thought,  or  a  mortifying 
discomfiture  works  him  up  to  the  utter  absurdity  of  the  self- 
magnifying  emotion,  he  sees  and  surrenders.      But  when  a  man 


22  Life  and  Times  of  George  /■'.  Pierce. 

of  genius  and  culture,  of  large  and  varied  scholarship,  after 
stud}*  and  preparation  has  equipped  himself  for  the  conflict, 
he  feels  an  instinctive  confidence  in  his  armor:  It  is  natural 
and  humanly  reasonable — it  is  unavoidable  unless  the  soul  is 
saturated  through  grace  with  humility  and  self-abnegation. 
Failure  may  demonstrate  the  fallacy  of  the  judgment,  un- 
it the  pride  of  the  emotion,  and  overwhelm  the  man  with 
chagrin,   but   he  will    find  some  explanation  of  the  disaster 

ide  of  himself.  It  was  the  weather,  an  unfavorable  pi. 
cal  condition,  bad  air  in  the  house,  want  of  sympathy  in  his 
audience,  or  Richard  was  not  himself  that  day.  Such  an 
exegesis,  such  an  argument,  such  a  peroration  must  have 
power.  Such  a  staff  laid  upon  the  dead  bod}-  need  not  wait 
the  coming  of  the  Master.  Who  can  exorcise  such  a  thou 
such  a  feeling,  utterly  c  y,  with  authority  and 

with  rvation,  rater  no  inure  into  me  ?      -Mas,  even  the 

spiritual  man  has  hi  :  ike  on  this  point,   ami 

truth  mi  II  and  long  for  the  master}-. 

"The  young  preacher  had  a  good  year,  on  the  whole,  but 

his  pulpit   efforts   were  irregular — no  rid  effective, 

now    beclotl  I    power.  hole    experience 

checkered    with    lights   am!  Hut  he  had  put  his 

hand  to  the  plough,  ami  dared   not  look  back.     So  he  went 

up  to  Confercnc  ther  appointment 

far  the  son  writ 

Lovick  Pierce  was  not  twenty  J  I  until  the  March, 

following  his  appointment.      The  Great   l'edee  Circuit  was  a 

very  large  one,  in  Eastern  South  Carolina.     The  timid  boy 

ty  to  it,  and  began  his  work.     As  we  have  already 

seen,  he   had   but  little    education  ;   he   knew  but  little,   and 

ha'l  no  skill  as  yet  in  using  what  he  knew.     He  had  heard  little 

idling,  and  that  which  he  had   heard  was  of  the   crudest 

kind.     To  scream,  to  stamp,  to  wild,  ulate  was,  in  the 

opinion  of  many  in  those  days,  to  preach.        He  docs  not 

mention  his  senior  preacher,  nor  do  I  find  any  notice  of  him 

in  after-history.      He  does,   however,   pay  a  deserved  tribute 

to   one   of  the   most   remarkable   men    in   early   Methodism, 


Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  23 

This  was  his  presiding  elder,  George  Dougherty.  He  said 
of  him  : 

"  In  those  days  it  was  my  good  fortune  to  become  familiar 
with  the  preaching  of  George  Dougherty.  He  was  the  only 
man  in  the  South  Carolina  Conference  of  any  real  scholar- 
ship, and  his  education  was  only  academic — mainly,  I  judge, 
self-secured.  I  have  myself  assisted  him,  when  he  was  por- 
ing over  his  Hebrew  Bible;  read  to  him  from  the  English 
version,  that  he  might  test  translation.  In  him,  unlearned  as 
I  was,  I  could  perceive  a  breadth  of  mind  and  an  accuracy  of 
language,  as  also  a  logical  acumen,  which  made  me  thirst  for 
knowledge,  and  made  me  the  fast  friend  of  education  and  an 
educated  ministry.  I  owe  the  first  inspiration  of  an  outspread 
of  mind,  into  the  regions  beyond,  to  him.  He  heard  me  ex- 
hort, not  with  my  knowledge,  but  by  lying  in  wait  to  see 
what  he  should  say  of  me,  and,  being  thrown  together,  at 
night  he  asked  me:  '  Have  you  ever  read  Paley's  "Moral 
Philosophy  ?  "  I  told  him  no  ;  I  had  never  seen  it.  To  which 
he  replied :  '  Get  it  and  read  it,  and  it  will  make  a  man 
of  you;  but  don't  you  read  it  and  think  you  are  a  philoso- 
pher.'"  The  tender  friendship  of  Dougherty  for  the  boy  un- 
der his  charge  continued  as  long  as  he  lived. 

Dr.  Pierce  says:  "There  was  little  to  inspire  a  young 
beginner  in  the  way  of  literary  taste  or  attainment.  All 
were  alike  unlearned,  save  Dougherty,  and,  as  might  have 
been  expected,  Simeon's  'Skeleton  Sermons'  were  all  the 
go  for  a  while.  Accordingly  I  made  haste  to  get  a  copy, 
and  it  was  well  I  did.  The  contempt  I  felt  for  the  book 
and  for  myself,  when  I  woke  to  the  littleness  of  employing 
another  man's  mind  to  do  my  thinking  and  planning,  was  an 
upward  step  in  my  mental  pathway."  It  is  not  possible, 
interesting  as  the  subject  would  be,  to  trace  the  victory 
of  this  remarkable  young  man  over  the  obstacles  of  his 
early  career.  He  began  to  study,  and  he  began  to  study 
the  best  books,  in  his  first  year;  he  began  to  think,  and  did 
his  own  thinking.  At  the  Conference  in  1806,  which  met  in 
Camden,  S.  C,  not  far  from  the  circuit  he  travelled,  he  was 


24  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce. 

sent  to  the  Apalachee  Circuit  in  Georgia.  The  State  of 
Georgia  at  that  time  had  two  districts  and  eight  appoint- 
ments. Perhaps  the  most  important  circuit  of  the  eight  was 
the  Apalachee.  It  included  all  of  Greene,  Oglethorpe,  and 
Clarke  Counties,  and  was  at  that  time  thickly  settled,  and  in 
the  twenty-eight  societies  scattered  over  this  section  there 
were  646  members.  It  was  a  time  of  great  awakening.  Stith 
Mead  had  only  a  few  years  before  lit  the  fires  on  all  these 
hills,  and  now  Samuel  Cowlcs  was  presiding  elder,  and 
Joseph  Tarpley  was  the  preacher  on  the  circuit.  Hope  Hull 
and  Benjamin  Blanton,  now  local,  were  living  in  the  bounds 
of  the  circuit,  while  General  Stuart,  Major  Floyd,  David  Mcr- 
riwether,  William  Tope,  Benjamin  Pope,  John  Crutchfield, 
Thomas  Grant,  and  Daniel  Grant  his  son,  all  lived  in  the 
bounds  or  near  the  bounds  of  the  circuit.  Greene  County 
was  largely  peopled  by  Virginians,  and  many  of  them  of 
the  Presbyterian  stock  which  had  peopled  Prince  Edward 
County  in  Virginia,  and  founded  Hampden  Sidney  College. 
Tarpley,  the  senior,  was  a  very  stirring  preacher,  and,  could 
young  Pierce  have  been  much  with  him,  he  might  have  prof- 
ited by  the  contact.  As  it  was,  he  was  thrown  almost  en- 
tirely upon  his  own  resources.  He  has  told  us  little  of  these 
day-. 

lie  could  preach   much  better  than  one  would  have  sup- 

ed  possible  with  his  limited  cultivation  ;  and  the  grace  of 
his  manner,  his  unaffected  piety,  and  his  sterling  good  sense 
attracted  the  best  people  to  him,  and  so  he  had  the  entry  into 
the  best  society  of  that  section.  Colonel  George  Foster,  of 
Virginia,  a  planter  of  considerable  means,  had  removed  his 
residence  from  Prince  Edward,  in  Virginia,  to  Greene  County, 
lie  had   married,   ere  he  came  out  to  Georgia,  a  Miss  Flour- 

.  of  the  old  Huguenot  blood,  and  Presbyterian  in  her 
leanings. 

Ann,  her  only  daughter,  was  born  in  Prince  Edward,  Va. , 
December,  1790.      Her  parents  even  then  resided  in  Greene 

inty,  Ga.,  but  the  mother  was  on  a  visit  to  her  kinspeople 
in  Virginia.     She  was  brought  up  in  the  gayest  circle  of  a 


Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  25 

gay  community.  "  She  was  taught,"  said  her  husband,  "  that 
to  dress  and  to  dance  was  indispensable  to  woman's  finish. 
When  I  made  her  acquaintance,  in  1806,  she  was  as  gay  and 
vain  as  a  woman  of  her  sense  ever  gets  to  be.  Of  ornament- 
al dress  she  was  extremely  fond.  She  was  active,  industri- 
ous, and  domestic,  and  kind  as  love  and  sympathy  could  be ; 
her  mind  strikingly  quick  in  its  perceptions,  and  practical  in 
its  workings.  In  May,  1807,  at  a  camp-meeting  in  Greene 
County,  she  was  awakened,  and  came  to  the  altar  as  a  seeker, 
which  she  did  with  the  most  decided  and  determined  pur- 
pose. I  was  witness  and  party.  She  immediately  joined  the 
church  as  a  seeker,  and  laid  off  her  ornaments,  and  became 
plain  and  Methodistic  in  all  her  attire  and  habits.  She  con- 
tinued a  manner  of  subdued  and  inquiring  heart,  until  the 
month  of  July,  at  a  camp-meeting  in  Hancock  County.  In 
her  father's  tent,  at  a  late  hour,  after  a  struggle  of  intense 
penitence  and  prayer,  she  was  blessed  with  one  of  the  most 
clear  conversions  I  ever  beheld." 

This  is  the  account  Dr.  Pierce  gives  of  an  event  which  had 
much  to  do  with  his  future,  for  Ann  Foster  became  in  an 
after-time  his  wife.  Whether  they  became  affianced  at  this 
time,  we  know  not ;  probably  not.  The  distance  in  social 
position  between  them  was  great.  He  was  a  Methodist 
preacher,  only  twenty-one  years  old,  without  education  or 
property,  and  in  the  second  year  of  his  ministry,  and  she  the 
gay  daughter  of  a  wealthy  planter.  Conference  met  in  Spar- 
ta, December,  1806,  and  the  young  probationer  was  there  to 
be  admitted  into  full  connection.  There  were  only  twenty- 
nine  members  of  the  conference,  and  they  were  almost  all  en- 
tertained by  one  man,  John  Lucas,  and  the  conference  was 
held  in  his  house.  At  this  conference  Lovick  Pierce  was  ap- 
pointed to  Augusta.  Methodism  had  gained  a  foothold  in 
Augusta  only  seven  years  before,  and  the  church-building 
had  been  built  only  five.  There  was  only  one  other  church 
in  the  city — St.  Paul's  Church,  in  which  the  Presbyteri- 
ans had  service.  The  Methodist  church  was  located  out  on 
the  commons,   and   the  race-course  was   where   the   present 


2G  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce. 

Greene  Street  Baptist  Church  is.  The  main  city  was  near  the 
lower  market-house,  the  chief  business-houses  being  on 
Broad  Street  and  Bridge  Row,  and  the  better  class  of  residences 
were  on  lower  Broad  and  lower  Reynold  Streets.  The  Meth- 
odists were  the  sport  of  the  godless  and  wealth}',  but  even  then 
they  had  gathered  into  the  society  some  of  the  more  earnest 
Christian  people  in  .  .  and  had  a  small  church  of  sixty 

member  .  I  I r.  Pierce  told  me,  in  later  life  :  "  I  had  a  passa- 
bly good  supply  of  homespun  clothing,  some  of  it  made  of 
cotton,  with  rabbit-fur  in  place  of  wool  ;  but  on  my  first  Sun- 
da)'  in  Align  .  I  mast  get  some  new  clothes  ;  so  1  did. 
•t  me  a  new  suit — of  course,  cut  Methodist  fashion— and, 
among  other  things,  I  got  impair  of  suspenders^  for,  really,  1 
could  not  get  along  without  them  ;  but  I  had  to  hide  them 
out  of  sight  when  Brother  Myers  came  my  way,  or  he  would 
have  thou  ht  me  sinfully  worldly." 

He  had  been  preaching  twenty-eight  times  a  month, 
buthe  had,  however,  little  use  for  more  than  twelve  sermons 
during  the  year,  for  one  could  supply  him  an  entire  round; 
but  now  he  must  preach  three  times  every  Sunday,  and 
once  on  Wednesday  night,  and  he  must  lead  a  prayer- 
ting  once  a  week.  He  had  everything  to  learn.  The 
people  who  went  to  church  in  Augusta,  in  the  main  went 
to     the     M  meeting-house  —  some      to      worship, 

many  t"  mock ;  and  the  young  men  would  take  their 
places  on  the  corners,  and  as  the  pale,  thoughtful  young 
preacher  passed  by  them  to  his  pulpit,  they  would  roll  up 
their  eyes  and  groan  in  mockery.  The  poor  young  man, 
a   (lower,    shrin  ncd,   conscious    of  what 

was  demanded  of  him,  and  painfully  conscious  of  what  he 
was,  at  last  broke  down  under  the  load.  Deep  depression 
settled  on  him,  and  agloom  dark  as  midnight  enveloped  him. 
lie  had  back-slidden.  He  had  lost  God's  favor.  He  must 
give  up  his  place  as  a  preacher.  This  was  what  he  felt. 
The  hour  was  critical;  but  Asaph  Waterman,  a  shrewd, 
tematic,  judicious,  Connecticut  man,  of  great  purity  and 
of  broad  views  came  to  the  rescue.      lie  had  taken  theMetho- 


Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  27 

dist  Society  into  his  care,  and  had  taken  the  preacher  to  his 
house.  Tq  him  he  went  with  his  tale  of  woe.  He  understood 
him.  "  You  must  go  up  the  country  for  a  month  ;  shut  your 
church,  leave  your  books,  go  back  to  Apalachee,  and  rest." 
He  did  so.  Perhaps  he  found  Colonel  Foster's,  and  perhaps  he 
found  the  fair  young  daughter,  Miss  Ann  ;  but  the  visit  to 
Greene,  and  the  dear  old  mother  in  Baldwin,  and  a  good 
camp-meeting  or  so,  gave  new  life  to  the  young  heart,  and 
the  shadows  fled.  Then  he  went  the  next  year  to  Columbia, 
S.  C.  Here  his  brother  Reddick  had  been  stationed  the 
year  before  him,  and  then  he  returned  to  Georgia  and  was  sent 
on  the  Oconee  District.  His  district  stretched  from  Athens 
to  St.  Mary's.  There  were  eight  appointments  in  it,  but  he 
could  not  reach  even  these  more  than  once  or  twice  during 
the  year.  He  was  but  twenty-four  years  old.  He  had  begun 
his  work  with  scant  resources,  but  he  had  been  so  diligent 
and  laborious,  and  had  learned  so  rapidly,  that  he  made  full 
proof  of  his  ministry  and  was  now  a  preacher  of  remarkable 
power.  He  had  learned  how  to  preach  in  the  best  school 
a  young  man  ever  attended — in  the  pulpit.  He  had,  however, 
formed  a  wretched  habit  of  speaking,  which  cost  him  much 
suffering,  and  really  threatened  his  life.  His  utterance  was 
rapid — speaking,  as  he  expressed  it,  "from  the  breast  out- 
ward ;  "  neglecting  a  full  inspiration  of  his  lungs,  he  exhausted 
them  by  his  utterance  and  brought  upon  himself  a  physical 
exhaustion  which  made  so  much  preaching  a  great  labor.  He 
was  sent  to  the  district  in  December,  1808,  and  in  September, 
1809,  he  married  Ann  Foster,  at  her  father's  home  in  Greene 
County.  He  continued  on  his  district,  being  absent  from  his 
home,  which  he  made  at  Colonel  Foster's,  at  least  eight  weeks 
out  of  every  ten.  On  February  3,  181 1,  while  he  was  still 
on  the  district,  George  Foster  Pierce,  his  first  child,  was  born. 
It  was  a  snowy  day,  and  the  snow  was  on  the  floor  of  the 
open  entry  of  the  double  log-house.  The  old  colonel  took 
the  babe  and,  baring  his  tiny  foot,  he  made  his  footprint  on 
the  snow.  The  young  elder,  leaving  his  fair  wife  and  his  babe 
at  the  home  in  Greene,  went  on  his  way.     She  had  taken  him 


28  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce. 

a  preacher,  and  she  had  determined  never  to  say   stay,  and 
she  never  did. 

The  narrative  of  the  Bishop  ends  with  the  Apalachce  Cir- 
cuit, and  the  whole  manuscript  with  the  section  which  follows. 
It  somewhat  breaks  the  continuity  of  the  story,  but  the  sec- 
tion is  worth  too  much  to  be  left  out. 

Section-    III.      SKETCH   OF  LOVICK  AND  R.EDDICK   PlERl  I. 

I  have  already  said  the  brothers  were  very  unlike.  This 
true  in  wellnigh  all  respects.  Rcddick  was  low,  squarely 
built,  round  of  body  and  limb,  full-fleshed,  weighing  about 
one  hundred  and  sixty  pounds;  his  head  was,  phrenolo 
cally  considered,  well  balanced,  frontal  developments  high, 
round,  smooth  ;  hair  sandy,  inclining  to  red,  complexion 
florid,  his  eye  light  hazel,  features  clean  cut  and  strongly 
marked.  His  whole  contour  indicated  an  active  mind,  a 
mercurial  temperament,  and  a  fearless  independence.  He 
had  great  muscular  power.  There  was  weight  and  solidity 
in  his  step,  expressive  of  his  general  character.  His  VO 
was  strong,  full,  enduring,  with  no  great  variety  of  modula- 
tion, but  always  distinct  and  clear,  whether  in  speech  or 
song. 

I  lis  mind  was  i  <(  high  order — capable  of  profound  thought, 
of  deep  investigation.  The  logical  faculty  was  supreme. 
Perhaps  "  Fletcher's  Checks,"  one  of  the  first  books  he  ever 
read,  and  the  fact  that  he  was  brought  into  contact  and  conv 
flict  with  the  Scotch  Scceders,  who  were  intense  Calvinists 
and  very  outspoken,  and  the  necessity  of  defending  Arminian 
doctrine,  then  everywhere  denounced  as  heresy,  falling  in 
with  his  mental  proclivity — all  conspired  to  give  a  turn  and 
tone  to  his  ministry.  lie  was  fond  of  controversy.  He  liked 
to  dissect  error,  to  disentangle  sophistry,  to  wrestle  with  a 
knotty  question.  He  rarely  preached  without  an  assault  upon 
one  or  more  of  the  "  five  points,"  and  in  the  latter  years  of 
his  life,  when  the  victory  had  been  achieved,  he  frequently 
fired  a  gun  to  warn  any   surviving  foe,  and  to   keep   alive  in 


REV.    REDDICK    PIERCE,   M.D. 


Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  29 

the  Church  some  knowledge  of  the.  weapon  by  which  the 
field  was  won. 

He  did  not  take  rank  among  scholars.  He  was  no  linguist, 
no  belles-lettres  man,  and  yet  his  information  was  extensive 
and  varied.  In  chemistry,  astronomy,  general  politics,  ques- 
tions of  commerce  and  finance,  as  well  as  general  theology, 
he  was  well  posted,  both  as  to  the  past  and  the  present. 
While  he  knew  what  others  had  written  and  spoken,  he  was 
an  independent  thinker — had  his  own  ideas,  his  own  theories, 
and  could  defend  them  in  any  presence.  With  a  full,  active, 
inquiring  mind,  he  was  a  great  talker.  For  thirty  years  be- 
fore his  death  he  was  deaf — extremely  deaf— indeed,  the 
deafest  man  I  ever  knew.  Fond  of  social  life,  and  unable  to 
hear  others  talk,  he  talked  himself,  but  talked  wisely  and 
Avell.  He  was  careless  of  his  person,  dress,  and  manners  ;  not 
a  sloven  or  a  clown,  but  indifferent  as  to  fit,  quality,  or  grace- 
fulness. His  mind  was  too  full  of  graver  matters  to  spare  a 
thought  to  these  things.  To  be  understood  was  all  that  con- 
cerned him,  in  style.  He  was  no  elocutionist;  posture,  voice, 
gesticulation  were  all  forgotten — merged  in  concentrated 
thought  and  intense  earnestness.  To  convince,  beyond  a 
possibility  of  escape  from  his  argument,  was  his  object,  and  to 
reach  this  he  disdained  all  strategy,  and  relied  upon  the  force 
of  truth  plainly  presented.  Which  was  the  greater  preacher 
was  a  question  decided  by  the  respondent's  relation  to  South 
Carolina  or  Georgia.  Reddick  lived  in  the  Palmetto  State, 
married  there,  bestowed  his  labors  there,  and  there  was  best 
known  and  most  highly  esteemed,  and  his  friends  claimed  pre- 
eminence for  him.  Georgia,  on  the  other  hand,  for  the  same 
reasons,  asserted  the  superiority  of  Lovick.  It  is  to  the 
credit  of  both  that  there  was  no  rivalry  between  them.  In 
honor  they  preferred  each  the  other. 

Like  his  father  before  him,  he  did  not  succeed  in  secular 
affairs.  Disabled  by  his  deafness  for  pastoral  work  and  en- 
cumbered with  a  large  family,  at  one  time  in  his  life  he  located 
and  tried  farming.  The  plan  did  not  work  satisfactorily,  and 
he  returned  to  the  Conference.     After  a  few  years  of  active 


30  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce* 

service,  his  growing  infirmity  forced  him  into  the   relation  of 
a  superannuate.      Through  long  years  of  trouble  and  sorrow, 
poverty  and  bereavement,  he  struggled  on  to  a  good  old  age. 
After  the   death  of  his   wife  and  one  or  more  of  his  children, 
and  the  marriage  and  settlement  of  the  rest,  he  was  alone  in 
the  world  in  many  respects,  a  forlorn,  broken-down  old  man. 
But  he  had  a  strong,  sturdy  spirit ;  naturally  and  by  grace  he 
was  patient  and  resigned.     lie  was  not  gloomy,  never  com- 
plained.    Cheery  and  hopeful,  his   faith  never   faltered.      He 
and  waited  in  joyous  tranquillity  for  his  change. 
He  was  a  deeply  religious  man.      Ilis  piety  was  a  princi- 
a   habit,    no   intermittent   fever.      Stead:  :iar,  im- 

movable, he  abounded  in  the  work  of  the  Lord.     1  remember, 
when    he    v..  and    feeble,   he    was    at  a  camp-meeting 

in  Georgia.  The  weather  was  opprcs-ively  hot  -but  he  went 
;  vice,  day  and  night.  My  father  said  to  him, 
"  Brother,  why  d<>  you  weary  and  exhaust  yourself,  going  to 
service  so  often,  when  you  cannot  hear  a  word  ?  "  He  an- 
swered, "  I  go  to  fill  my  place,  as  every  man  ought."  That 
irk  was  the  key  to  his  experience  and  was,  in  fact,  the  epi- 
tome of  his  life,  lie  always  filled  his  place — was  where  he 
thought  he  ought  to  be. 

ick  Pierce  in  his  youth  and  prime  was  a  fine  specimen 
of  manly  beauty  ;  he  was  taller  than  his  brother,  slender,  more 
erect  in  his  carriage.  His  physical  structure  was  of  large 
bone — well  braced  with  integuments  and  muscle,  but  spare  of 
flesh  ;  in  height,  five  feet  ten  and  a  half  inches — his  maxi- 
mum, in  weight,  one  hundred  and  forty-five  pounds  ;  his  com- 
plexion was  dark,  swarthy,  bilious;  his  hair  was  black ;  his 
eye — deep,  dark  hazel,  full  of  expression — could  interpret  every 
emotion,  and  in  speaking  glowed  and  flashed  as  a  coal  of  fire. 
In  repose  the  light  of  it  was  soft  and  gentle,  and,  except 
when  fixed  in  thought,  was  active,  sweeping  the  whole  field 
of  vision.  Every  feature  of  his  face  was  fine,  and  all  harmo- 
niously blended — an  intellectual  brow,  a  thin,  prominent  nose, 
and  a  flexible  mouth,  and  each  responded  to  the  thoughts  and 
passions  of  his  soul.     His  voice  was  strong,  deep,  full,  and  as 


Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  31 

flexible  as  a  flute.  Speaking  never  made  him  hoarse.  I  have 
known  him  to  preach  three  sermons  in  a  day,  each  three 
hours  long,  and  then  sing  the  doxology  with  as  clear  a  tone 
as  when  he  rose  in  the  morning.  There  was  no  flagging,  no 
crack,  no  strain.  It  was  smooth — distinct — and,  at  will,  per- 
cussive as  a  peal  of  thunder.  Its  volume  and  force  was  bet- 
ter adapted  to  the  terrible  than  the  tender.  It  was  a  rare 
combination  of  power  and  melody.  His  mind  was  natu- 
rally of  the  highest  order  and,  despite  the  absence  of  scho- 
lastic advantages,  was  admirably  trained.  His  reasoning 
powers  were  well  developed.  He  was  distinguished  for  met- 
aphysical acumen.  His  imagination  was  bold  and  fertile, 
both  creative  and  inventive.  These  faculties  were  all  prom- 
inent, and  neither  dominated  the  others.  They  were  recip- 
rocal and  co-operative.  They  were  all  trained  for  their  dis- 
tinct functions.  In  a  regular  discourse,  each  had  its  place 
and  performed  its  work.  If  in  the  progress  of  a  mental  pro- 
cess on  a  given  line,  where  the  draft  was  upon  one  faculty, 
either  of  the  others  interjected  a  thought,  there  was  no  clash, 
no  confusion,  no  diversion.  It  was  a  help,  not  an  interruption. 
His  power  of  concentration  exceeded  any  man's  I  ever  knew. 
He  could  hold  his  mind  to  a  chosen  subject  with  military  pre- 
cision. His  thoughts  never  broke  ranks.  There  was  no 
straggling.  He  had  so  educated  his  mind  that  he  could  fo- 
calize his  attention  at  will.  Indeed,  the  trouble  with  him  was, 
to  let  go  when  he  wished.  The  habit  had  grown  too  strong 
for  volition.  The  whole  machinery  had  to  be  ungeared  be- 
fore the  wheel  would  stand  still.  He  could  not  lay  aside  his 
thoughts  with  his  garments  ;  hence  his  sleepless  nights.  His 
mind  never  rested.  He  was  a  student  to  the  last.  He  was 
largely  a  man  of  one  book.  His  reading  was  never  extensive 
or  varied.  Theology  was  his  theme.  He  never  read  history ; 
not  even  ecclesiastical  history,  much.  With  light  literature 
he  had  nothing  to  do.  Milton's  "  Paradise  Lost,"  Young's 
"Night  Thoughts,"  Pollok's  "  Course  of  Time,"  he  read  once. 
They  were  not  books  of  reference,  even.  Shakespeare  he  never 
read  at  all.     Of  Byron  he  knew  nothing.     The  only  novel  he 


33  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce, 

ever  read,  I  think,  was  the  "  Fool  of  Quality."  In  this  con- 
nection, pardon  an  anecdote.  Dr.  Olin  and  my  father  were 
great  friends  ;  each, I  think,  thought  the  other  the  greatest  man 
in  the  nation.  Both  looked  with  contempt  upon  novels,  tales, 
and  general  poetry.  Dr.  Olin  came  to  our  house — as  he  often 
did — and  one  day,  in  conversation,  my  father  said,  "Brother 
Olin,  I  am  reading  a  religious  novel*1  Olin,  with  a  .sneer 
and  a  tone  I  have  never  forgotten,  answered,  "  Religious 
grog,"  and  then,  with  a  hearty  laugh,  ridiculed  the  book 
and  all  its  kith  and  kin.  My  father's  defence  was  that 
Wesley  recommended  the  book.  My  impression  is  that  he 
finished  the  reading.     Thus  began  and  thus  ended  his  only 

v  in  that  style  and  order  of  composition. 

Lovick  Tierce,  in  all  his  instincts,  tastes,  and  sentiments, 
was  a  born  gentleman.  He  did  not  have  one  set  of  manners 
for    the   parlor  and   another  for   the   bed-chamber,   one    for 

ipany  and  another  for  his  family,  but  in  private  and  pub- 
lic, in  the  sanctuary  or  on  the  highway,  he  was  always  polite, 
considerate  of  all  the  propri  attitude,  speech,  and  be- 

havior. He  was  cleanly,  neat,  nice  in  his  person  and  his 
(tress.  I  never  saw  him  out  of  order.  His  apparel  always 
fitted  him  and  u  .  .rupnlously  tidy.    Travelling  in  stage 

or  car,  in  dry,  dusty  weather,  while  all  others  were  stained 
and  dirty,  he  managed  to  keep  himself  wellnigh  unsoilcd. 
I  low  this  was  done  I  never  knew.  Often  we  have  journeyed 
together,  and  on  reaching  home  my  wife  would  say  :  "  Why, 
Mr.  Pierce,  how  came  you  so  covered  with  dust  and  your 
father  so  free  from  it  ?  Didn't  you  ride  in  the  same  convey- 
ance, and  were  you  not  exposed  alike  ?"  My  answer  usually 
was,  "  Perhaps  he  can  explain  it,  I  cannot.  Dirt  sticks  to 
me  very  kindly,  but  it  has  a  peculiar  respect  for  him."  One 
explanation  of  his  uniform  tidiness  is  to  be  found  in  the  fact 
that  he  never  perspired,  like  other  people.  I  have  known 
him  to  preach  two  hours  and  a  half,  when  the  thermometer 
was  up  among  the  nineties,  without  a  sign  of  moisture  on  his 
head  or  face.  Both  were  as  dry  as  if  he  had  fanned  them  for 
the  same  length  of  time.     His  body  perspired  freely,  but,  like 


Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  33 

Gideon's  fleece,  when  all  around  was  wet  with  dew,  his  hair 
and  face  were  dry.  Hence  his  collar  and  cravat  never  lim- 
bered and  fell  down,  as  with  other  men,  an  unsightly,  sweat- 
stained  mass.  (Let  the  physiologists  explain  this,  if  they 
can.)  He  was  fastidious  in  his  ideas  of  clerical  dress,  both  as 
to  color  and  fashion,  never  outraged  his  taste  himself,  and  felt 
some  disgust  toward  those  who  did.  He  was  jealous  over 
the  ministry  in  all  things,  great  and  small,  and  was  devoutly 
solicitous  that  they  should  give  no  offence  to  Jew  or  Gentile 
or  to  the  Church  of  God. 

My  father,  while  bold,  independent,  outspoken  in  the 
pulpit,  was  nevertheless  constitutionally  timid — easily  embar- 
rassed and  disconcerted  by  an  unexpected  turn  of  things.  He 
was  not  lacking  in  physical  or  moral  courage  when  occasion 
called  for  its  display,  but,  naturally  modest,  he  was  distrust- 
ful of  himself  and  was  wholly  wanting  in  self-assertion. 
Hence  though  fluent,  always  ready,  his  mental  powers 
trained  to  obey  his  will  in  undisturbed  discourse,  he  was  no 
debater.  In  conference,  when  a  subject  was  under  discussion 
that  interested  him,  he  would  give  his  opinions  freely,  and 
sometimes  at  large,  but  he  never  wrangled  for  victory.  The 
reasons  for  this  may  be  found  in  the  following  facts  :  First, 
he  was  naturally  impatient,  quick  of  temper,  and  always 
sought  to  avoid  any  provocation  to  an  unseemly  display  of 
this  infirmity.  Secondly,  his  tender  respect  for  the  feelings 
of  others  disinclined  him  to  subject  them  to  the  mortification 
of  defeat,  or  to  wound  them  by  sharp-cutting  sarcasm.  His 
power  in  this  line  of  thought  and  expression  was  unsurpassed. 
But  he  never  indulged  it,  save  in  the  pulpit,  when  he  was  dis- 
cussing, not  persons,  but  principles,  passions,  and  vices. 
Moreover,  in  his  estimate  of  them,  religious  assemblies  were 
not  debating  societies,  where  men  contended  for  partisan 
ends  or  personal  supremacy,  but  literally  a  conference  of 
grave  men  who  were  seeking  to  know  the  truth,  the  right, 
the  best  thing  to  do.  Agreeably,  when  he  had  delivered  his 
opinions  he  felt  that  his  duty  was  done,  and  left  the  issue  to 
the  light  of  truth  and  the  adjudication  of  conscience.  His 
3 


!U  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce. 

views  generally  prevailed,  either  because  of  their  intrinsic  wis> 
dom  or  through  deference  to  his  age,  character,  and  long 
experience.  These  sketches  are  not  full,  of  course,  but  simply 
comparative,  and  intended  to  illustrate  character  by  contrast. 
In  one  case  the  features  presented  will  be  brought  out  more 
distinctly,  and  the  more  important  facts  into  fuller  statement 
in  the  progress  of  the  narrative. 

The  religious  character  of  Lovick  Pierce  was  shaped  and 
determined  by  the  mould  of  original  Methodism.  Say  what 
we  may,  account  for  it  as  we  will,  there  was,  in  the  experience 
of  the  men  of  my  father's  generation,  a  strength  of  conviction 
for  sin  and  of  sin,  a  depth  of  repentance,  a  simplicity  and 
grasp  of  faith,  a  spiritual,  fervid  communion  with  God,  an 
utter  self  abnegation,  accepting  without  complaint  all  the 
hardships  and  sacrifices  incident  to  a  conscientious  piety,  to 
which  modern  professors  are  strangers  ;  nay,  which  they 
reckon  among  the  superstitions  of  the  past,  the  narrow  ideas 
of  a:  :it  era,  the  morbid  conceptions  of  an  overwrought 

excitement.  The  contra-t  is  painful  and  alarming  to  those 
who  believe,  with  the  writer,  that  in  the  great  facts  of  Christian 
experience  the  first  State  of  the  Church  was  better  than  the 
last  The  views,  principles,  purposes,  and  aims  which  were 
formath  rs  in  the  very  commencement  of  his  religious 

life  never  forsook  him.  They  survived  all  changes,  personal 
ano1  relative,  were  never  modified  by  the  discovery  that  they 
were  wrong,  that  the  idea  of  their  necessity  was  a  mistake,  or 
to  accommodate  the  clamors  of  the  flesh  asking  for  larger  lib- 
erty, or  the  demands  of  social  progress  claiming  rights  and 
indulgences  subversive  of  all  real  religion  ;  nay,  verily  !  they 
grew  with  his  years,  his  knowledge,  his  study  of  God  and 
man,  and  asserted  their  authority  and  maintained  their  suprem- 
acy over  his  convictions  and  habits  when  he  was  ninety-four 
years  old  as  when  he  was  sixteen.  I  knew  him  familiarly  in 
his  public  and  private  life,  his  sentiments  and  habits,  his 
bu-iness  and  conversation,  and  now  bear  witness  that  I  have 
never  known  a  more  consistent,  painstaking,  uniform  Chris- 
tian man.      He  was  sometimes  highly  demonstrative  but  com- 


Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  35 

monly  quiet ;  yet  always  tender,  quick  of  feeling,  and  ready  to 
respond  to  pathos,  in  word  or  scene  or  Providence.  He  was 
full  of  all  generous  sympathies.  Charity,  the  bond  of  per- 
fectness,  girdled  all  his  virtues.  The  law  of  kindness  was 
upon  his  tongue.  He  spoke  evil  of  no  man.  Fertile  in  apol- 
ogy for  the  wrong,  he  was  always  prompt  to  condone  and 
forgive.  Guileless  and  unsuspecting,  his  credulity  made  him 
the  victim  of  the  plausible  and  the  artful,  and,  when  deceived 
and  wronged,  he  would  excuse  and  confide  again.  Although 
out  of  place  in  this  chapter,  lest  I  forget  it  in  another  I  wish 
to  put  it  upon  record  that  I  never  heard  him  speak  adversely 
of  any  preacher,  or  pronounce  a  harsh,  or  even  unfavorable 
judgment  of  any  sermon.  Even  where  a  man  was  under 
charges,  and  the  evidence  strong  against  him,  he  would  hope 
against  hope  that  the  case  was  not  as  bad  as  it  seemed. 
When  a  sermon  was  dull,  dreary,  insipid,  and  all  were  mut- 
tering in  complaint  or  disgust,  he  could  find  something  good 
in  it.  Young  men  often  dreaded  to  preach  before  him,  but 
he  was  always  the  kindest  auditor  in  the  crowd,  the  easiest  to 
please,  and  the  most  certain  not  to  find  fault.  His  brethren 
will  remember  that  in  conference  business  he  was  always  on 
the  side  of  mercy  and  forbearance.  An  idle,  secular,  worldly 
minded  preacher  he  could  not  tolerate,  and  he  introduced  in- 
to the  Discipline  the  clause  which  invests  the  Annual  Confer- 
ence with  power  to  rid  itself  of  the  unacceptable — the  secular 
and  the  inefficient. 

And  so  the  manuscript  ends  —  a  beautiful  tribute  to  a 
beautiful  character. 


CHAPTER  II. 
CHILDHOOD  AND  YOUTH,  1811-1829,  AGED  1   TO  18. 

Sketch  of  Greene  County — The  Home  near  Greencsboro  —  View  of 
Georgia  Life  in  the  Early  Years  of  the  Century — Lovick  Pierce  in 
Milledgeville — Chaplain  in  the  Army — Studies  Medicine — Settles  in 
nesboro — George's  School — The  Boy  Enters  College — Athens 
—  Dr.  Waddell — College  Life  in  those  Days — Some  of  his  Associates 
— Robert  Toombs,  S.  <■'•■  Hillyer,  Thomas  F.  Scott — His  Home — 
Asbury  Hull — The  Revival — His  Conversion — Call  to  Preach — Strug- 
gles— Refusal — Debate  with  Thomas  F.  Scott — Graduation— View  of 
s-orgia  Commencement. 

WE  return,  now,  to  the  young  presiding  elder.  His  work 
e  him  but  little  time  for  home,  and  so  the  baby-boy  and  his 
mother  were  left  at  Colonel  Foster's,  three  miles  from  Grcenes- 
boro,  while  he  went  <>n  his  way.  The  County  of  Greene 
had  been  settled  at  this  date  only  about  thirty  years.  It  had 
1  in  the  last  purchase  from  the  Indians  made  by  Sir 
lames  Wright,  and,  being  one  of  the  frontier-counties  and  ex- 
posed to  Indian  forays,  had  been  less  rapidly  peopled  than  the 
counties  east  of  it.  Colonel  Foster  had  come  out  from  Prince 
Edward  County,  Virginia,  as  we  have  seen,  and  settled  a 
plantation  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  county-town.  The 
country  was  remarkably  fertile  and  beautiful,  and  at  this 
time  was  in  its  brightest  youth.  Cotton-culture  was  but  be- 
ginning then,  and  all  those  substantial  products  which  made  a 
Georgia  home  in  those  days  were  produced  in  great  abun- 
dance. The  dwelling  of  the  colonel,  as  his  neighbors  called 
him,  was  a  large  double  log-house,  with  roomy  sheds  around 
it,  and  a  wide  piazza  in  front.  The  immense  fireplaces  were 
piled  high  with  hickory-logs  in  the  winter,  and  the  large 
table  was  lavishly  spread  with  all  the  comforts  which  a  good 


18H-18.9.]         ijfe  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  37 

liver  provided  for  his  household  and  his  guests.  There  was 
independence  and  abundance.  There  was  a  large  family  of 
happy,  contented  slaves,  who  were  well  cared  for.  In  this 
home  the  future  bishop  spent  his  infancy  and  early  childhood, 
and  to  it  he  often  returned  in  later  years.  The  good  grand- 
father and  the  grandmother  were  earnest,  faithful  Christians. 
The  father  continued  on  the  district  for  the  full  term  of  four 
years,  and  left  it,  when  his  boy  was  three  years  old,  for  the 
Milledgeville  Station.  He  did  not  move  his  wife  and  little 
family  from  Colonel  Foster's,  but  went  himself.  It  was  only 
a  day's  ride  from  Milledgeville  to  his  home,  and  Milledgeville 
was  quite  a  small  village  at  that  time,  although  it  was  the  capital 
of  the  State  and  did  not  demand  his  constant  presence.  While 
he  was  stationed  here,  the  war  which  had  begun  with  England 
in  1812  was  still  raging,  and  a  draft  of  the  militia  was  ordered, 
and  Lovick  Pierce  was  drawn  as  a  soldier.  The  regiment  to 
which  he  was  assigned  was  ordered  to  Savannah,  and  he  was 
appointed  its  chaplain.  He  had  been  a  preacher  near  ten 
years,  and  had  in  that  time  preached  not  less  than  three 
thousand  times.  His  method  of  preaching,  he  says,  was 
execrable,  and  brought  on  a  weakness  of  the  lungs  which 
seriously  threatened  his  life.  He  now  had  two  children,  and 
his  income  in  the  six  years  of  his  married  life  had  not  reached 
a  thousand  dollars  all  told.  It  was  evident  that  he  must 
locate,  and  he  began  the  study  of  medicine,  and  read  assid- 
uously, while  he  was  in  Savannah.  Peace  was  declared  the 
next  spring,  and  he  went  on  to  the  medical  college  at  Phila- 
delphia, where  he  graduated  in  the  early  part  of  1 8 16.  He 
returned  to  Greene,  and  settled  his  family  in  a  home  in 
Greenesboro.  Greenesboro  was  a  sprightly  country-town  in 
the  centre  of  a  populous  and  wealthy  county.  There  was  a 
fine  moral  tone  in  the  society  of  the  village,  and  a  consider- 
able amount  of  cultivation.  Mr.  Archibald  Scott,  a  descend- 
ant of  the  old  Scotch-Irish  Presbyterians  who  settled  the 
Valley  of  Virginia,  and  a  graduate  of  Washington  College, 
was  teaching  the  High  School,  and  his  excellent  and  gifted 
wife  taught  the  little  children.    Mr.  Scott,  who  was  the  father 


38  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  [Chap.  ii. 

of  Rev.  William  J.  Scott,  of  the  Georgia  Conference,  was  a 
Presbyterian  minister,  and  in  connection  with  others  organ- 
ized the  Moral  and  Polemic  Society,  a  debating  club. 

Vincent  Sanford,  Nicholas  Lewis,  Colonel  Thomas  Foster, 
John  Bethune,  Nicholas  Howard,  A.  B.  Longstrcet,  historic 
names  in  Georgia,  were  among  the  members  of  this  society, 
which  was  organized  in  1817.  The  old  minutes  arc  before 
me.  In  one  of  them,  Dr.  Pierce  is  announced  for  a  lecture 
in  the  court-house.     There   was   a  weekly  debate   on   some 

:c  of  general  interest.  Sometimes  the  question  was  pure- 
ly religious,  sometimes  metaphysical,  sometimes  political. 
Among  the  disputants  on  the  question,  "  Arc  there  any  in- 
nate ideas?"  Thomas  F.  Foster,  A.  B.  Longstrcet,  W.  C. 
1  >.iwson,  Julius  Alford,  and  L.  Pierce  are  found.  Of  these, 
Foster  and  Alford  were  members  of  Congress,  and  William 
C.  Dawson  was  United  States  Senator,  and  A.  B.  Longstreet 
a  Judge  of  the  Circuit  Court. 

This  picture  gives  us  an  insight  into  the  culture  and  refine- 
ment of  the  little  village  in  which  Bishop  Pierce  spent  his 
childhood.      He  was  six  Id  when  his  father  removed 

from  the  country  home  to  the  town.  The  house  in  which 
Dr.  Pierce  In  11  standing.      On  the  grass-covered  sum- 

mit of  a  beautiful  hill,  with  a  long  avenue  of  silver  poplars 
leading  to  it,  is  the  man-ion,  somewhat  the  worse  for  age. 

An  old  memorandum-book  of  Dr.  Pierce  has  in  it  these 
entries  : 


and  l"t $1,300 

I                   and  bricklay<  r-.  .  . .         500 
Painting 105 


Smoke-house $290 

200 

try  an<l   I'  140 


These  figures  show  something  of  the  social  condition  of 
the  family,  and  of  the  surroundings  of  the  boy's  early  life  ; 
culture,  refinement,  plenty,  and,  for  that  time,  simple  elegance, 
were  about  the  home.  The  father  soon  became  one  of  the 
leading  physicians  of  the  county  ;  the  uncle  was  one  of  the 
leading  lawyers,  and  the  grandfather  a  leading  planter. 
There  was  a  little  log  Methodist  church  on  the  outskirts  of 
the  village,  in  which  the  doctor  preached  his  wonderful  ser- 


18H-1829.]         Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  39 

mons.  George  was  six  years  old,  and  Julia  younger,  and 
they  were  sent  to  Mrs.  Archibald  Scott.  The  entry  on  the  old 
book  has  it : 

Tuition,  second  session,  1817 $15- 

It  was  a  time  of  great  political  excitement  in  Georgia,  and 
Dr.  Pierce  was  not  a  negative  man.  He  fully  indorsed  "  Troup 
and  the  treaty,"  and  was  all  the  more  popular  because  of  his 
known  views  on  this  subject.  The  great  revival  wave  was 
not  yet  sweeping  over  the  State,  but  the  earnest,  eloquent 
preaching  of  the  first  preacher  of  the  State,  as  Dr.  Pierce  was 
called  by  more  than  his  partial  friends,  was  preparing  the  way 
for  it.  There  was  quite  a  little  family  at  the  Greenesboro 
home  when  George  went  to  Athens  to  college.  The  children 
were  very  bright,  and  George  went  at  once  to  the  head  of 
his  class,  much  to  his  father's  delight,  but  not  at  all  to  his 
astonishment.  Mrs.  Scott  was  his  first  teacher,  and  when  he 
was  older  Mr.  Scott  took  him  in  hand.  The  Bishop  says  of 
him  :  "  He  was  one  of  the  most  famous  teachers  of  his  day. 
One  peculiarity  of  his  teaching  was  this — the  pupil  was  at 
perfect  liberty  to  do  what  he  pleased,  but  he  had  to  have  his 
lesson.  When  the  lesson  was  not  perfect,  Mr.  Scott  had  a 
good  supply  of  hickory,  and  the  muscle  to  use  it.  As  a  re- 
sult, the  lessons  were  generally  perfect." 

George  seems  to  have  been  a  bright-eyed,  fun-loving,  frol- 
icksome  boy,  never  very  studious,  but  always  head  of  his 
class.  There  were  few  Sunday-schools  in  Georgia  in  those 
days,  but  the  good  mother  taught  him  the  old  Wesleyan  cate- 
chism. The  Sabbath  was  carefully  observed,  and  every 
Sunday  there  was  preaching  somewhere  in  the  village.  If 
he  had  any  great  religious  awakenings  in  childhood,  he  does 
not  record  them.  The  camp-meeting  at  Hastings,  a  few 
miles  away,  was  held  every  year,  and  the  doctor's  tent  was 
always  open  for  guests,  and  the  preacher  made  it  his  head- 
quarters. His  house  in  the  village  was  a  Christian  home,  and 
the  voice  of  prayer  arose  from  the  family  altar  night  and 
morning.     George  was  never  a  bad  boy,  never  a  prayerless 


40  Life  an  J  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.         [Cnxr.  n. 

one,  never  a  scoffer,  and  never  had  the  slightest  taste  for  the 
low  or  vulgar.  He  was  full  of  life,  well  grown,  wiry,  and 
with  a  healthy  appetite  ;  a  capital  shot  with  a  rifle,  an  en- 
thusiastic angler,  fond  of  his  pony,  and  a  daring  rider.  The 
playmates  called  him  "  Bulger,"  and  Bulger  led  the  boys,  and 
the  Bishop  afterward  led  men. 

His  grandfather  gave  him  a  pony  which  he  named  Bibo. 
One  day  the  lad  concluded  to  make  Bibo  useful,  and  so,  tak- 
ing his  grandfather's  steady  saddle-horse,  he  hitched  the  two 
to  a  wagon,  and  went  to  the  new  ground  after  wood.  Few 
things  were  more  relished  by  the  small  boy  of  those  days 
than  to  drive  a  two-horse  wagon,  and  George  was  sitting 
proudly  on  the  wagon,  handling  the  reins,  his  feet  dangling 
beneath,  when  in  the  rough  new  ground  his  leg  struck  a 
Stump.  There  was  a  cry  of  intense  pain  as  he  fell  to  the 
ground.  His  leg  was  broken.  His  grandfather  set  the  leg 
in  splints,  and,  save  a  few  weeks'  confinement,  no  harm  came 
from  the  accident. 

The  sprightly  boy  did  not  seem  to  study  much,  but  he 
always  knew  his  lessons,  unless  it  happened  to  be  arithmetic  ; 
figures  were  an  unceasing  puzzle  to  him.  But  with  Mr. 
Archie  Scott's  impartial  rod  ever  hanging,  like  the  famous 
sword  of  classic  story,  over  him,  he  made  such  progress,  even 
in  the  mystic  characters  of  Smiley's  Arithmetic  and  Day's  old 
Algebra,  that  he  was  able  to  enter  the  freshman  class  of 
Franklin  College,  the  State  school,  when  he  was  a  little  over 
fifteen  years  old. 

He  wanted  a  wagon,  or  cart,  probably  for  that  yearling 
calf  which  all  the  boys  of  his  time  had  such  pleasure  in  break- 
ing to  the  yoke,  and  he  and  his  companion,  the  overseer's 
son,  went  to  the  woods  for  the  black  gum,  to  make  the 
wheels.  The  gum-log  with  which  he  had  much  to  do  after 
he  was  a  bishop  was  not  much  harder  to  manage  than  this 
toughest  tree  of  the  forest  was  to  the  boys,  but  they  brought 
down  the  tree,  and,  with  cross-cut  saw,  at  last  cut  out  the 
wheels,  and  the  cart  was  made. 

Ere  George  went  to  college  the  doctor  felt  that  he  could 


1811-1889.]         ijfe  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  41 

no  longer  remain  out  of  the  regular  ministry,  and  as  he  had 
found  out  the  true  cause  of  his  lung-trouble,  and  had  learned 
how  not  only  to  prepare  sermons  but  how  to  preach  them, 
he  returned  to  the  pastorate.  He  did  not  remove  his  family 
from  Greenesboro,  but  went  himself  to  his  charge,  and  re- 
mained at  it  as  long  as  his  duty  called  him  to  stay.  He  spent 
every  Sabbath  on  his  station,  and  made  hasty  visits  home  to 
his  family.     In  1823  he  was  stationed  in  Augusta,  in  1824  and 

1825  in  Washington,   Lexington,   and  Greenesboro,  and  in 

1826  in  Athens  and  Greenesboro. 

These  memoranda  merely  give  us  a  glimpse  of  this  re- 
markable man  at  a  time  when  he  was  nearing  the  zenith  of 
his  fame  as  a  preacher.  The  sketch  given  of  him  by  his  son 
gives  us  an  accurate  picture  of  him  at  this  time.  His  life, 
since  he  began  his  ministry  in  1804,  had  been  one  of  constant 
mental  labor.  He  had  overcome  the  defects  of  his  early 
training,  and  by  hard  and  constant  study  made  up  for  the 
want  of  a  school.  Grammar,  including  rhetoric  and  logic,  mor- 
al philosophy,  physics  ;  medical  science,  including  anatomy, 
pharmacy,  physiology,  as  well  as  the  practical  parts  of  it,  had 
engaged  him  constantly.  He  had  received  with  his  wife  a 
dower  which  had  placed  him  in  comparatively  easy  circum- 
stances and  provided  him  with  facilities  for  improvement. 
The  section  of  the  State  in  which  he  was  to  exert  his  greatest 
influence  was  Middle  Georgia,  at  that  time  in  its  most  pros- 
perous and  populous  state. 

Through  the  kindness  of  the  Rev.  W.  J.  Scott,  of  Atlanta, 
I  am  permitted  to  give  a  view  of  old  Greenesboro,  as  it  was 
in  those  days,  from  an  octogenarian  who  lived  there  at  that 
time. 

From   Colonel  Lewis  to   Rev.  Dr.   Scott    concerning  Bishop 
Pierce's  Boyhood. 

Atlanta,  May,  1888. 
It  is  true   I  was  reared  in  the  same  county  and  village 
(dear  old   Greenesboro)  with  Bishop  Pierce.      Greenesboro 
had  about  a  thousand,  at  the  utmost  not  more  than  twelve 


42  Life  ami  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  [Chap.  it. 

hundred  people,  and  never  had  village  of  its  size  a  finer  circle 
of  intellectual  men  and  beautiful  women  within  its  limits. 
There  was  ex-United  States  Senator,  afterward  Judge  Thomas 
W.  Cobb,  of  whom  so  discriminating  a  person  as  Judge  Charles 
Dougherty  once  remarked,  "  He  resembled  Mansfield  more 
than  any  man  we  ever  had  in  Georgia  ;  "  Judge  A.  B.  Long- 
street,  so  widely  known  in  every  intellectual  walk,  more 
especially  as  orator  and  author  ;  Mr.  F.  Cone,  in  power  and 
profundity  unsurpassed,  almost  unequalled  at  the  bar  ;  the 
successful  politician  and  United  States  Senator,  William  C. 
Dawson;  Colonel  V.  King  ;  and  last,  but  very  far  from  least, 
the  always  attractive  and  brilliant  Colonel  Thomas  F.  Foster, 
likewise  a  member  of  Congress,  who  was  also  his  uncle, 
and  resided  in  his  father's  family  ;  but  especially  was  he  in- 
debted to  your  venerable  father,  his  fust  teacher,  as  he  was 
mine.  I  always  recur  with  special  pleasure  upon  the  pe- 
riod passed  under  his  tuition.  Penetrated  with  veneration, 
gratitude,   and  sensibility   for  the  memory    of   the  man,   he 

uld  fear  idealization  of  his  old  preceptor,  as  teacher  as  well 
entleman,  were  it  not  that  his  own  was  always  confirmed 
by  the  universal  testimony  of  his  contemporaries.  One  of 
the  secrets  of  his  great  success  was  his  sympathy,  almost 
paternal,  with  the  progress  of  his  scholars.  No  blarney  or 
ostentation  of  sympathy,  but  the  palpable  fact,  and  manifest, 
genuine  feeling  itself— a  passionate  lover  of  the   classics,  he 

iied  to  teach  as   much  to  diffuse  scholarship  as  for  remu- 
neration for  his  labor. 

The  patriarch  of  higher  learning  in  the  South,  the    I 
Dr.  :-ll,  President  of  Franklin  College,  and  who 

placed  the  university  on  the  track  of  all  its  subsequent  suc- 
cesses;  the  man  who  taught  William  II.  Crawford,  J.  C.  Cal- 
houn, Mr.  McDuffie,  Judge  Longstrcet,  Senator  Cobb;  the 
great  educator  and  college  president,  declared  that  Mr.  Scott 
sent  his  students  better  prepared  for  college  than  any  teacher 
of  his  time. 

It  is  easy  to  imagine,  from  the  contact  of  two  such  minds, 
how  thorough    a  foundation   in   classical   learning  Mr.  Scott 


18H-1829.]         Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  43 

must  have  laid  in  the  mind  of  such  a  boy  as  George  Pierce 
before  he  left  his  academy  for  college. 

In  another  particular  the  boy  was  most  fortunate.  I  have 
spoken  of  his  uncle,  Colonel  Thomas  F.  Foster,  who  lived 
in  the  family  of  Dr.  Lovick  Pierce  his  brother-in-law,  and 
father  of  the  future  bishop.  Colonel  Foster  was  a  very 
polished  gentleman,  a  fine  scholar,  of  rare  and  brilliant  con- 
versational powers,  and  singularly  fascinating  in  social  life. 
Colonel  Foster's  buoyant  spirits  and  fine  intellectual  enthusi- 
asm, seldom  off  the  wing,  made  a  favorable  impress  on  all  the 
people  of  the  village  How  much  more  potent  the  spell,  the 
social  and  mental  habits,  in  daily  intercourse,  of  this  dis- 
tinguished gentleman,  would  leave  upon  the  susceptible  tem- 
perament of  the  bright,  ambitious  boy,  it  is  not  at  all  difficult 
to  imagine. 

From  thorough  acquaintance  with  Colonel  Foster,  the 
writer  is  satisfied  that  to  no  single  circumstance  (all  most 
propitious)  was  the  future  bishop  more  indebted  for  culture 
and  early  pulpit  distinction  than  to  the  counsels  and  com- 
panionship of  this  accomplished  relative.  The  writer,  several 
years  the  senior  of  Bishop  Pierce,  was  never  in  school  or  col- 
lege with  him.  He  can  only  remember  him  as  a  handsome 
and,  from  village  rumor,  bright  and  ambitious  boy,  anxious 
for  the  "  honors  "  of  his  class,  and  generally  successful  in 
winning  them. 

I  pen  this  only  because,  being  requested  to  give  such  rec- 
ollections as  I  possess,  I  thought  that  the  influence  of  his 
peerless  teacher,  Mr.  Scott,  and  of  his  brilliant  and  accom- 
plished uncle,  Colonel  Foster,  upon  the  boyhood  of  the  bishop, 
not  being,  possibly,  thoroughly  understood,  might  not  be 
sufficiently  emphasized  in  his  biography. 

Thrown  apart  by  changes  of  residence,  I  never  heard  the 
bishop  more  than  twice  :  one  of  these  sermons  was  surpass- 
ingly beautiful.  To  his  poetic  imagination  was  doubtless  due 
his  early  distinction  in  the  pulpit.  That  imagination  was 
simply  tropical.  It  had  every  variety  and  hue  of  plumage, 
for  flight ;  every  flower,  gorgeous  or  delicate,  for  ornament. 


44  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  [Ohaf.  ii. 

That  he  was,  however,  profound  as  beautiful  we  have  no 
doubt ;  for  proportion  and  symmetry  in  her  works  is  one  of 
the  invariable  prime  laws  of  nature. 

Franklin  College  in  Athens  was  the  only  college  in  the 
State  of  Georgia  in  i  ^26,  and  to  it  Dr.  Pierce  decided  to 
bring  his  bright  boy  George.  It  was  only  about  a  day's  ride 
from  Greenesboro  to  Athens,  and  the  faculty  minute  has  it 
George  Pearce  was  examined  and  admitted  into  the  freshman 
class.  The  State  of  Georgia,  as  far  as  the  White  Settlements 
were  concerned,  extended  to  the  Flint  River  on  the  west,  and 
to  the  Cherokee  Country  on  the  north,  only  some  twenty  miles 
from  Athens.  In  this  area  in  which  the  white  people  had 
their  hornet,  there  was  much  wealth  and  intelligence.  To  this 
State  college  came  young  men  and  boys,  not  only  from  the 

■  _•  of  <  reorgia,  but  from  Florida,  then  a  territory,  from  Al- 
abama, and  Mississippi.  They  were  nearly  in  all  cases  chil- 
dren of  wealthy  parents.  Moses  Waddell  was  president  of  the 
college,  and  he,  with  two  professors  and  two  tutors,  made 
up  the  faculty.  The  town  of  Athens  had  been  peopled 
mainly  by  those  who  had  settled  homes  in  it,  for  the  purpose 
of  educating  their  sons,  and  was  the  centre  of  much  refine- 
ment and  wealth,  and  on  the  hill  overlooking  the  river  and 
Stretching  to  the  westward  were  the  homes  of  perhaps  eight 
hundred  or  one  thousand  people.  There  was  the  College 
Chapel,  in  which  Dr.  Waddell,  or  Mr.  Alonzo  Church,  his 
professor  of  mathematics,  held  service  every  Sunday,  and 
there  was,  besides,  the  Methodist  church,  in  which  there  was 
preaching  by  the  preacher  in  charge  of  the  circuit  at  least 
once  a  month.  The  president  of  the  college  had  been  teach- 
ing boys  for  nearly  forty  years.  Strictly  orthodox  in  his 
theological  views,  there  was  no  doctrine  he  more  devoutly 
believed  than  that  of  human  depravity,  especially  the  de- 
pravity of  boys,  and  he  watched  for  every  manifestation  of  it. 
The  boys,  knowing  that  they  were  expected  to  be  mis- 
chievous and  tricky,  took  particular  pains  not  to  defeat  public 
expectation.     In  looking  over  the  record  of  sixty  years  ago  I 


18H-1829.]         Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  45 

find  some  facts  which  cast  light  on  the  trials  of  good  Dr. 
Waddell,  and  give  a  view  of  some  of  the  dangers  to  which 
our  young  student  was  exposed.  The  boys  were  many  of 
them  daring  and  somewhat  lawless.  Here  is  the  story  in 
some  old  records  of  a  stubborn  fight  between  two  young 
Georgians  who,  in  after  years,  belonging  to  the  same  party, 
stood  side  by  side  in  Congress  ;  and  here  the  charge  is  made, 
in  Johnsonian  English,  of  the  contemptible  and  disgraceful 
conduct  of  some  of  the  boys  having  chickens  which  were 
dishonestly  obtained,  cooked  in  their  rooms,  and  one  of  the 
culprits  I  find  to  have  been  a  captain  in  the  army  in  after- 
time  ;  and  here,  in  the  same  old  record,  is  the  statement  that,  as 
the  bell  had  been  stolen,  the  students  should  assemble  at  the 
sound  of  a  trumpet ;  one  had  some  spirituous  liquor  brought 
into  his  room,  for  which  he  was  dismissed  ;  and  here  is  a  bold 
letter  of  rebellion  from  the  boys  refusing  to  recite  two  lessons 
in  mathematics  a  day,  which  letter  they  ingloriously  withdrew 
when  they  were  told  it  was  to  withdraw  the  letter  or  withdraw 
themselves. 

But  the  story  of  vagaries  does  not  give  a  fair  insight  into 
the  true  character  of  the  students.  There  were  many  hard- 
working, steady-going  fellows  among  them.  In  his  own 
class  there  was  young  Nathaniel  Crawford,  who  walked  at 
once  to  the  front  rank  and  held  his  place  without  contest. 
This  class  of  less  than  twenty  gave  presidents  to  three  col- 
leges, professors  to  two,  and  bishops  to  two  churches.  Others 
of  the  class  became  distinguished.  During  nearly  four  years 
in  college  there  was  never  a  time  when  he  was  called  before 
the  faculty  for  even  an  explanation. 

Dr.  Waddell,  the  President  of  Franklin  College,  was  a 
learned,  stern  man.  He  had  taught  boys  for  many  years  and 
had,  while  the  principal  of  a  high  school,  wielded  the  rod 
more  energetically  than  any  man  in  the  commonwealth,  and 
now  that  he  could  not,  as  president  of  a  college,  use  the  rod 
longer,  he  did  the  next  best  thing  he  had  power  to  do,  he 
fined  the  boys  and  sent  them  back  to  the  grammar  school,  or 
told   them  to  depart  from    Franklin  College   in  quick  time. 


46  Life  and  Times,  of  George  F.  Pierce.  [Oha*.  il 

When  George  Pierce  came  to  Athens,  to  board  with  Asbury 
Hull,  he  was  but  little  over  fifteen  years  old.  He  was  as  rosy 
as  a  girl,  and  almost  as  beautiful  ;  active,  full  of  life  and  spirits, 
good-natured,  gentle,  kindly,  and  pure.  He  had  met  his  very 
opposite  in  the  genial,  tempestuous,  brilliant  Bob  Toombs,  it 
may  be,  before  he  came  to  Athens;  but  if  not,  he  met  him  soon 
after,  and  between  the  great  statesman  and  the  great  preacher 
a  friendship  began  in  boyhood  which  lasted  as  long  as  life. 
Dr.  Shaller  G.  Hillyer,  a  distinguished  Baptist  preacher,  was 
also  in  college  with  him.     Dr.  Hillyer  says  : 

"Bishop  Pierce,  when  young,  was  very  handsome.  His 
physique,  in  size,  in  shape,  and  symmetry  was  about  fault- 
less. His  face  was  manly,  his  head  noble,  his  eves  lustrous 
and   ex;  His   movements    were   easy  and  graceful, 

without  the  least  appearance  of  effort  or  affectation.  As  a 
student  his  standing  was  high.  When  our  class  graduated  he 
shared  the  third  honor  with  his  room-mate,  William  Smythe, 
of  Washington.  His  deportment  as  a  student  was  without 
censure.  I  never  heard  of  his  being  a  party  in  any  college 
mischief.  And  yet  his  manners  were  genial  and  friendly. 
His  companions  l<>ved  him.  and  he  was  greatly  respected 
by  his  teachers.  And  to  crown  the  whole,  his  moral  charac- 
ter was  without  reproach.  A  character  more  completely 
rounded  and  finished  has  seldom  come  forth  from  any  uni- 
versity." 

The  summer  after  he  came  to  Athens,  Stephen  Olin  was 
elected  Professor  of  Kthics  and  Metaphysics.  This  event  had, 
perl  much  to  do  with  the  intellectual  future  of  the  lad 

:iy  other  event  in  his  early  history.  Stephen  Olin  was  his 
father's  friend  and  admirer,  and  at  the  home  in  Grccnesboro 
George  had  first  met  this  famous  preacher,  great  in  body, 
great  in  brain,  great  in  heart,  and  great  in  piety.  Classic  in 
taste  and  culture,  a  born  teacher,  a  born  philosopher,  he  was 
immensely  popular  and  influential  with  his  students.  I  le  had 
a  sweet  little  cottage  in  a  grove  of  young  oaks,  very  near  the 
college,  and  to  it,  no  doubt,  his  friend's  gifted  son  was  a  fre- 
quent visitor.     Although  his  health  was  exceedingly  precari- 


isii-1829.]         Ufe  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  47 

ous,  he  managed  to  do  the  work  his  office  demanded  for  a 
term  of  two  years.  His  department  was  Ethics  and  Meta- 
physics, and  in  this  department  young  Pierce  was  greatly  in- 
terested. He  was  a  good  student  in  every  study  but  one, 
mathematics.  For  it  he  had  no  taste.  He  joined  the  Phi 
Kappa  Society,  and  was  selected  as  the  champion  debater 
on  the  public  debate.  The  speech  he  made  is  now  before  me, 
and  I  give  some  extracts  from  it,  to  show  what  he  was  at 
eighteen  years  of  age. 

The  old  manuscript  has  it  thus  : 

"  An  oration  delivered  in  the  University  of  Georgia,  by 
George  F.  Pierce,  in  opposition  to  one  spoken  by  Thomas  F. 
Scott,  on  the  propriety  of  admitting  more  States  into  the 
Union. 

"Affirmative,  Scott;   negative,  Pierce." 

Thomas  F.  Scott,  his  antagonist  in  this  debate,  became  a 
distinguished  Presbyterian  minister,  in  after-time,  and  left  his 
church  and  became  an  Episcopalian,  and  a  bishop.  When 
Bishop  Pierce  was  on  the  Western  Coast,  a  Methodist  bishop* 
he  found  him  in  charge  of  a  diocese.  The  debate  was  held 
in  March,  1829.  The  young  debater  certainly  makes  a  very 
strong  argument  for  his  side  of  the  question. 

"  But  again,  if  Congress  refuses  to  annex  these  territories 
as  States,  the  negotiation  there  will  cease.  For  |t  is  not  to 
be  supposed  that  any  citizen  of  a  free,  sovereign,  and  inde- 
pendent State,  who  possesses  the  right  of  suffrage,  who  has 
his  interest  represented,  his  industry  rewarded,  and  his  am- 
bition excited,  and  enjoys  all  the  blessings  which  flow  from 
the  administration  of  equal  and  impartial  laws,  will  fly  from 
the  jurisdiction  of  that  State  to  a  dependent  territory  over 
which  a  comparative  tyranny  is  exercised.  But  here  we  are 
met  with  this  objection  :  that  man  is  a  restless  being  ;  that  he 
has  a  natural  disposition  to  wander  abroad  in  pursuit  of 
wealth  and  happiness.  This  class  of  emigrants  will  never  be 
numerous,  and  even  those  who  do  migrate  are  the  unenlight- 
ened, whose  loss,  like  drops  taken  from  the  running  stream, 


48  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  [Chai\  il 

will  never  be  perceived.  There  must  be  some  more  powerful 
cause  to  produce  the  effect  for  which  the  gentleman  contends. 
There  is  a  charm  in  the  name  of  home  which  engages  all  of 
his  affections  ;  there  is  an  attachment  to  early  associations  ; 
a  magic  in  the  voice  of  friendship,  that  strikes  rapture  from  his 
soul  and  forbids  a  dissolution  of  the  sweet  enchantment. 
Think  you  that,  allured  by  the  prospect  of  gain,  he  will  desert 
the  green  fields  of  his  childhood  to  seek  a  home  amidst  a  land 
of  strangers?  No,  never  while  memory  lives  and  revives 
tender  recollections  of  the  past,  and  fancy  decks  the  future 
in  her  glittering  robes,  and  hails  it  as  the  herald  of  brighter 
scenes  and  more  lasting  enjoyments.  No,  the  people  will 
never  move  from  the  jurisdiction  of  their  government  until 
Freedom  is  dethroned  and  Despotism's  steel-clad  form  is 
reared  in  its  Stead. 

"It  will  strike  anyone  who  looks  over  this  country,  that 
our  population  is  very  small  when  contrasted  with  many  of 
the  nations  of  Europe.  It  has  been  estimated  by  our  political 
economists  that  the  population  of  this  country  doubles  itself 
every  twenty-five  years,  but  that  the  ratio  of  produce  for  the 
sustentation  of  human  life  bears  no  kind  of  proportion  to  thi^ 
increase.  It  becomes,  then,  a  matter  of  speculation  what 
number  of  inhabitants  the  soil  will  support  with  ease  and 
convenience. 

11  We  find  in  the  Chinese  Empire,  which  has  an  area  of 
four  millions  of  square  miles,  that  a  population  consisting  of 
one  hundred  and  fifty  millions  are  supported — which  is  the 
most  extensive  of  any  in  the  world.  Agriculture  in  that 
country  is  rude  in  the  extreme — it  is,  in  fact,  nothing  when 
compared  with  the  highly  improved  husbandry  of  Europe. 
Very  few  individuals  labor  for  the  production  of  more  than 
is  necessary  for  their  own  subsistence.  The  only  thing  which 
is  remarkable  is  that  they  take  care  to  bring  every  spot  under 
cultivation.  The  rugged  mountain  is  made  to  smile  with  the 
yellow  harvest  as  well  as  the  fruitful  valley  ;  a  soil  not  so 
exuberant  by  half  as  our  own,  and  yet  how  vast  the  differ- 
ence in  population.     From  the  immense  number  of  inhabi- 


18U-1829.]  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  49 

tants,  and  from  the  exigency  of  their  wants,  great  improve- 
ments have  been  suggested,  both  with  regard  to  her  internal 
policy. 

"  Admit  the  States,  and  you  create  a  diversity  of  interest, 
a  conflict  of  claims  and  sectional  prejudices,  consequences 
pregnant  with  danger.  The  increased  number  of  Represent- 
atives in  Congress  must  cause  more  dissension  and  generate 
more  party  feeling  when  any  move  is  proposed  for  general 
adoption.  The  Northern  and  Western  district  of  the  empire, 
conceiving  it  advantageous  to  them,  and  reckless  of  the 
Southern  interest,  may  combine  to  silence  the  vote  of  this 
portion  of  the  country.  But  we  are  told  that  it  is  straining 
an  argument  to  suppose  that  any  subject  will  be  prepared  for 
the  deliberation  of  that  body,  and  passed  by  its  authority, 
which  would  militate  against  the  general  welfare  ;  that  the 
Legislature  of  each  State  protects  the  individual  rights  of  that 
State  ;  that  the  connection  between  the  several  parts  is  so 
close  that  whatever  is  aspersion  to  the  one  must  be  repug- 
nant to  the  other.  But  these  objections  to  the  argument  are 
perfect  nullities.  Self-interest  is  the  primwn  mobile  of 
every  assembly  of  men,  and  to  suppose  that,  in  a  collection 
as  numerous  as  our  Congress,  there  will  be  no  clashing  of 
claims,  is  to  suppose  something  which  never  did  and  never 
will  exist. 

"  The  gentleman  forgets  the  passage  of  the  Tariff  of  1828 
— that  cormorant  that  sits  in  the  tree  of  life,  devising  death  to 
those  who  live  ;  a  law  selfish  in  its  ends,  unequal  in  its  oper- 
ations, unjust  in  its  demands,  and  securing  a  hateful  monop- 
oly to  those  for  whose  benefit  it  was  passed. 

"  Secondly,  the  Legislature  of  every  State  protects  the 
particular  rights  of  that  State,  says  our  opponent;  but  if  the 
General  Government  chooses  to  enact  a  law  circumscribing 
our  rights,  there  is  no  safety  but  in  submission,  for  if  the  State 
passes  a  law  in  contradistinction  to  it,  it  would  be  utterly 
void,  and  resistance  would  be  vain.  It  would  be  the  contest 
of  a  stripling  with  an  unshorn  Sampson  ;  as  a  feeble  victim 
within  the  clutches  of  the  monarch  of  the  desert. 
4 


50  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  [Chap.  ii. 

"  The  connection  between  the  several  parts  is  not  so  inti- 
mate as  the  gentleman  would  have  us  believe.  Already  has 
the  repulsion  been  so  great  as  to  strike  a  panic  to  the  patri- 
otic bosom,  and  make  it  grieve  with  a  fearful-looking  for  of 
woe  and  desolation.  Already  has  discontent  lifted  its  giant 
form  and  looked  around  upon  the  peaceful  scene  with  a  ma- 
lignant smile  that  bodes  no  good  to  this  now  happy  Union. 

"  It  was  this  extension  of  territory  that  overthrew  the 
Roman  Empire,  for  it  created  so  much  dissension  among  the 
several  provinces  that  she  was  compelled  to  resort  to  op- 
pression in  order  to  silence  their  murmurs,  but  in  the  act  she 
wakes  the  slumbering  fires  of  a  nation's  wrath.  Rebellion 
loosed  the  ark  of  political  safety  from  her  moorings,  and 
drifted  it  out  upon  the  ocean  of  Revolution,  an  object  for 
every  contending  storm  which,  by  its  angry  war,  came  out  to 
battle  for  the  prize  or  to  disport  itself  in  fearful  gambols  upon 
its  tremulous  bo^om.  Yes,  admit  these  territories  as  states 
and  you  bring  within  the  pale  of  the  government  those  wild 
and  turbulent  spirits  who  have  lied  from  the  serenity  of  law 
to  indulge  in  unrestrained  passion,  or  to  quench,  in  solitude, 
the  burnings  of  a  remorse  which  reaches  their  bosom  with  an 
intolerable  agony." 

This  oration,  from  which  we  have  given  extracts,  gives  a 
fair  view  of  the  young  man's  culture  and  taste  at  eighteen. 

While  Geor  at  college,  Dr.  Pierce  was  engaged  most 

constantly  and  effectively  in  his  ministerial  work.  A  revival, 
such  as  America  had  not  known  since  1802,  was  now  in  pro* 
s  in  Georgia.  In  Washington,  in  Lexington,  in  Greenes- 
boro,  in  Macon,  in  Clinton,  and  in  many  of  the  country- 
churches,  there  were  meetings  of  most  remarkable  power. 
Stephen  Olin,  James  O.  Andrew,  John  Howard,  and  Lovick 
Pierce  were  a  corps  of  evangelists  who  moved  together. 
The  number  of  distinguished  men — lawyers,  judges,  and  plant- 
ers— who  were  converted  was  remarkable,  and  up  to  this  time 
never  equalled. 

There  had  never  been  a  revival  in  the  college,  or  in 
Athens,  in  its  history.     The  preaching  had  been  strictly  or- 


18U-1829.]         nfe  aru}  Jimes  of  George  F.  Pierce.  51 

thodox,  and  the  discipline  of  the  College  and  the  Church 
had  been  rigid  and  stern,  but  no  revival  had  ever  followed  ; 
but  Athens  was  now  to  share  in  the  general  blessing.  A 
young  Baptist  preacher  began  a  prayer-meeting  among  the 
boys,  which  drew  the  more  thoughtful  and  serious  under  its 
influence.  Dr.  Lovick  Pierce  was  in  charge  of  the  station  ; 
Thomas  Stanley  was  living  in  the  town,  teaching  a  Female 
Academy  ;  and  Thomas  Samford  wars  presiding  elder,  and 
a  four  days'  meeting  was  appointed.  To  the  help  of  these 
came  Joseph  C.  Stiles,  of  the  Presbyterian  Church.  Mr. 
Stiles  was  then  a  young  man,  and  a  Presbyterian  evangelist. 
He  had  been  converted  under  the  ministry  of  John  Howard 
in  Savannah,  and  had  given  himself  to  special  work  in  re- 
vivals. He  was  really  a  preacher  of  remarkable  ability. 
Among  the  class-mates  of  Bishop  Pierce  were  Nathaniel 
Macon  Crawford,  afterward  President  of  Mercer  University, 
and  Shaller  G.  Hillyer,  professor  of  the  same  college,  both  of 
whom  became  distinguished  Baptist  preachers  ;  Thomas  F. 
Scott,  who  became  a  Presbyterian,  and  afterward  a  Bishop  of 
the  Episcopal  Church,  and  John  N.  Waddell,  who  was  the 
Chancellor  of  the  University  of  Mississippi,  and  then  of  the 
Presbyterian  University  of  the  South  ;  whether  they  began 
a  religious  life  at  this  time  I  cannot  say,  but  I  think  it  cer- 
tain they  did.  The  revival  was  all-pervading,  and  George 
Pierce,  a  boy  aged  sixteen,  became  deeply  concerned.  He 
told  me  of  his  conversion,  but  did  not  give  any  extended  ac- 
count of  it.  He  had  never  been  a  vile  boy.  He  had  deep 
convictions,  but  they  were  not  agonizing.  He  had  been  an 
honest  seeker  for  a  thorough  conversion.  He  sought  for 
pardon,  for  power  over  all  sin,  for  conscious  peace  with 
God,  and  for  a  pure  heart.  He  sought  for  some  days.  One 
night  he  told  me,  after  having  gone  forward  for  prayer  he  was 
sitting  near  a  window  of  the  church  ;  he  had  been  earnestly 
praying  and  he  now  realized  that  Jesus  was  his  Saviour. 
There  had  been  no  excessive  alarm  before  ;  there  was  no  high 
excitement  now;  but  the  fulness  of  peace,  the  sweet  con- 
sciousness of  entire  surrender  and  acceptance  were  here.     He 


59  Life  and  Times,  of  George  F.  Pierce.  10b*t.  ir. 

said  the  moonlight  never  fell  so  sweetly  and  the  sky  was  never 
so  bright.  Just  then  his  father  came  to  him  :  "  George,"  he 
said,  "  you  must  trust  your  Saviour."  "  And  I  do  trust  him, 
pa,"  he  said.  With  a  beaming  face  the  glad  father  took  him 
by  the  hand  and  led  him  to  his  mother.  The  good  mother 
had  not  forgotten  how  to  shout,  and  she  burst  forth  into  a 
glad  acclaim,  in  which  others  joined,  and  there  was  a  happy 
time  in  the  Athens  Church  that  night.  The  conversion  was 
thorough,  the  consecration  was  complete. 

From  this  time  there  was  a  complete,  a  positive  and  con- 
trolling religious  principle  in  all  the  life  of  George  Tierce. 
The  young  convert  had  few  struggles,  lie  had  made  a  full 
surrender  ;  he  had  asked  for  a  full  pardon,  for  a  clean,  pure 
heart,  he  had  sought  for  the  abiding  witness,  and  he  secured 
these  blessings.  For  months,  he  told  me,  for  near  twelve 
months,  not  a  cloud  ever  shadowed  his  sky.  Then  came  the 
impression  that  he  ought  to  preach.     lie  dismissed  it  at  once, 

:  delusion.  He  lost  his  peace  of  mind  ;  clouds  came;  tempta- 
tions came  ;  but  still  he  wavered  not  in  his  integrity  of  purpose. 
1 1  was  not  called  to  preach.  1  le  was  sure  the  impression  that 
he  was,  was  a  delusion.  His  joy  was  gone,  he  could  not  tell 
why  ;  but  he  was  as  steady  in  his  attendance  to  his  religious 
duties  as  he  hid  ever  been.  The  struggle  went  on  for  over 
two  years  of  his  college  life.  He  told  no  one,  not  even  his 
father.     During  thn  of  his  college  life  he   made  his 

home  with  Asbury  Hull,  the  son  of  Hope  Hull,  the  famous 
pioneer  preacher.  Asbury  Hull  had  graduated  in  1S14, 
had  been  a  tutor  in  the  college,  and  had  built  his  home  in 
the  town  for  two  years.  He  had  retired  from  the  college, 
had  gone  into  business  as  a  banker,  and  was  living  in  great 
comfort,  a  man  of  means.  He  proposed  to  Dr.  Pierce  to 
take  his  boy,  as  he  took  in  aftertime  the  daughter  of  Bishop 
Andrew,  and  to  give  him  his  board.  In  this  happy  family 
young  Pierce  spent  over  three  years.  Asbury  Hull  was 
a  man  of  great  wisdom,  of  great  integrity,  and  of  genuine, 
unaffected  piety.  He  had  nearly  reached  his  threescore 
years   and  ten    when   one   morning  he  was  called  to  break- 


isii-1829.]         iife  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  53 

fast  from  his  study,  and  not  responding,  they  went  to  him 
and  found  him  with  his  Bible  opened  on  his  knee  and  his 
eyes  closed  in  death.  Mr.  Hull  had  a  fine  collection  of  the 
best  books,  and  George  read  in  all  his  leisure  moments  and 
became  acquainted  with  all  the  English  classics.  He  took 
good  stand  in  his  college  classes,  and  graduated  in  August, 
1829.  He  divided  the  third  honor  with  W.  W.  Smythe. 
His  speech  was  on  natural  science.  The  accounts  in  the 
old  newspapers  say  there  was  a  large  crowd  at  Commence- 
ment, and  speak  highly  of  Mr.  Crawford's  speech,  but  say 
nothing  of  him  who  became  the  leading  orator  of  them  all. 
The  Commencement  of  Franklin  College,  sixty  years  ago, 
was  the  event  of  the  year.  The  visitors  came  from  far  and 
near.  Not  only  Georgia,  but  the  neighboring  States  sent  up 
their  delegations.  To  the  expectant  graduate  the  time  was 
of  intense  interest,  and  to  his  parents-  not  less  so.  No  son  of 
an  itinerant  Methodist  preacher  had  ever  graduated  in  Athens 
before.  Dr.  Pierce  had  not  regarded  highly  the  traditions  of 
his  brethren  about  dress,  and  did  not  himself  wear  the  uni- 
form of  his  order.  And  he  was  not  willing  to  have  his  hand- 
some boy  contrasted  with  his  classmates,  and  so  he  ordered 
the  tailor  to  make  George  a  full  suit  of  blue  broadcloth,  with 
bright  brass  buttons  and  velvet  collar.  George  was  indeed  a 
handsome  young  fellow,  and  on  that  August  day,  as  his  eye 
flashed  and  his  cheek  glowed,  dressed  in  attractive  garb, 
when  he  made  his  graduating  speech  and  his  rich  voice 
sounded  through  the  chapel,  he  was  in  appearance  to  the 
Methodist  of  the  time  sadly  unlike  one  who  had  abjured  all 
the  pomps  and  vanities  of  the  proud,  vain  world.  It  requires 
but  little  effort  of  the  imagination  to  reproduce  the  scene. 
Such  a  scene  as  will  never  be  presented  in  Georgia  again. 
The  lumbering  carriages  from  the  low  country,  with  their 
black  coachmen  and  footmen  and  four  horses  ;  the  gay  city 
belle  from  Savannah  or  Augusta,  the  heiress  of  the  sea  isl- 
ands, the  daughter  of  the  owner  of  a  hundred  slaves  ;  the 
young  gentlemen  from  the  plantations,  with  their  handsome- 
ly equipped  saddle-horses  and  old-time  gigs  and  sulkies  ;  the 


54  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  [Chap.  ii. 

heavy-laden  stage-coach,  were  all  here  from  Saturday  to 
Wednesday.  Old  Doctor  Waddell,  now  presiding  for  the 
last  time  as  President ;  the  Governor  and  his  staff,  the  Board 
of  Trustees,  the  visiting  clergy  were  on  the  platform  ;  crowds 
of  fascinating  young  ladies,  who  were  now  most  assiduously 
attended  by  the  college  boys,  filled  the  pews.  The  class 
was  a  fine  one.  The  Valedictory  was  won  by  Nathaniel 
Macon  Crawford,  the  son  of  the  great  statesman,  William  H. 
Crawford.  "  Very  tender,"  says  the  Old  Athenian,  "  was 
the  farewell  to  the  old  doctor  and  the  faculty,  and  many 
tears  were  shed."  The  reporter  had  nothing  to  say  of  the 
other  speakers  on  that  day. 

The  commencement  day  closed,  and  the  college  boys 
passed  out  into  the  busy  world,  and  George  returned  to 
Greenesboro,  to  make  ready  for  life. 

The  old  memorandum  book  gives  the  following  items  on 
the  cost  of  his  education  : 

Geoi 

^t  term,  Freshman  year f 9  °° 

ird 25  00 

>ks  and  Fines 5  43 

First  Session,  Sophomore 1800 

Ditto,  and  Library 19  00 

Junior    Year. 

Tuition '8  00 

Books   6  °° 

Tuition >9  °° 

Senior    Year. 

Tuition 37  00 

Books 5  °° 

Board 5°  °° 

Clothing  and  Incidentals 250  00 

Total $436  43 

He  had  been  three  years  and  a  half  at  college,  and 
received  his  diploma  of  A.  B.  before  he  was  nineteen  years 
old. 


CHAPTER   III. 

EARLY  DAYS  OF  HIS  MINISTRY,  1829-1839,  AGED  18-28. 

Greenesboro,  Alcovi,  Augusta — College  Days  Ended — Greenesboro  again 
— Attempts  to  Study  Law — Failure — Effort  at  Diversion — Failure 
again — Bishop  Andrew's  Interview — The  Application  for  License — 
John  Collinsworth — The  Brass-buttoned  Coat — The  License — The 
Young  Preacher — Rev.  W.  R.  Branham's  Account. 

He  graduated  in  August,  1829.  He  was  eighteen  years 
old  the  February  before.  The  inward  struggle  still  went  on. 
Was  he  called  to  preach  or  not  ?  If  he  was,  he  would  not 
confer  with  flesh  and  blood  ;  but  was  he  called  ?  The  question 
must  be  settled  now,  for  his  college  course  was  at  an  end, 
and  his  way  through  life  must  be  chosen.  His  father  was  in 
the  field,  should  he  join  him  ?  He  decided  that  the  impres- 
sion that  he  was  to  preach  was  not  divine,  and  he  entered 
his  uncle's  law  office  to  study  law.  The  study  had,  how- 
ever, no  charms  for  him. 

He  tried  to  centre  his  mind  upon  Blackstone.  The  effort 
was  a  vain  one.  He  was  very  restless  and  unhappy.  The 
days  of  sweet  heavenly  communion  with  God  had  long  since 
passed.  He  attended  church,  took  the  sacraments,  went  to 
class-meeting,  prayed  in  private,  but  still  his  heart  was  hard 
and  cold.  One  day,  after  a  vain  effort  to  read  Blackstone, 
he  rose,  and  laying  his  law-book  on  the  mantel,  said:  "  I'll 
quit  this,  anyhow  !  "  He  concluded  to  try  diversion,  and  so 
he  spent  every  evening  in  the  company  of  the  young  ladies 
of  the  village,  but  all  in  vain. 

James  O.  Andrew  was  stationed  at  Athens  and  Greenesboro. 
He  knew  and  loved  very  dearly  this  oldest  son  of  his  first 
Presiding  Elder.  He  was  satisfied  that  God  had  a  special 
work  for  him  to  do.     So  one  day  he  sought  an  interview  with 


[>{j  Life  an  J  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.         [Chap.  hi. 

him.  "  My  young  friend,"  says'Bishop  Andrew,  "was  ex- 
ceedingly frank  in  his  communication  with  me,  and  received 
all  I  said  very  kindly.  Our  conversation  was  close  and 
honest,  but  very  friendly,  and  I  left  him  without  knowing 
what  might  be  the  result.  In  a  week  or  two,  however,  lie 
told  me  that  God  had  sanctified  that  interview  to  his  good, 
and  that  it  had  awakened  him  to  a  sense  of  his  real  condition 
and  duty,  and  hum  that  day  as  long  as  he  lived  he  should 
devote  himself  to  the  service  of  God  in  the  itinerant  minis- 
try." This  was  evidently  just  before  Bishop  Andrew  went 
to  the  Annual  Conference,  which  met  in  Columbia,  S.  C.  ; 
for  young  Tierce  was  at  that  Conference  and  Grcenesboro 
n  in  the  Apalachee  Circuit  with  another  pastor.  The 
preacher  in  charge  of  the  circuit,  was  John  Collinsworth. 
Collinsworth  was  a  man  of  iron.  He  had  no  fear  of  man  and 
ht  no  favor  from  man.  Men  all  stood  as  men  to  him. 
He  believed  a  Methodist  was,  by  his  very  profession,  a 
peculiar  man.  He  must  show  by  every  mark,  external  as 
well  as  by  every  inward  one,  that  he  was  not  of  the  world, 
and   when    they    told     him    that    G  Pierce,    whose    hair 

■  >rehead,  and  did  not,  like  his  or  Asbury's, 
lie  down   upon  it,  th.it    George    Pierce,  who  came   to   church 
with  a  suit   of  blue  broadcloth,    with   brass-buttons,    wh 
cheery    -mile    bd  I    to    him    a    thoughtless    heart,    that 

this  George  Pierce  was  going  to  be  a  preacher,  it  was  too 
much  for  his  credulity  ;  but  the  application  for  license  was 
made  earl)-  in  the  year  1 830,  and  he  must  act  upon  it.  The 
young  man  had  already  been  licensed  to  exhort,  and  had  been 
in  the  pulpit  at  Walker's  church,  with  Henry  Milliard,  and 
now  that  he  wished  to  go  further  should  he  hold  his  peace? 
He  honored  the  father,  he  honored  the  mother,  but  he  must 
not  allow  any  mere  feeling  of  regard  for  others  to  influence 
him.     George  Tierce  must  come  down,  and  be  more  humble 

1  preacher,  serious,  and  plain,  or  he  could  not  be  licensed 
by  his  vote. 

The  Society  was  to  decide  upon  the  young  man's  fitness  be- 
fore the  (Juarterly  Conference  could  hear  from  the  application. 


<5. 


Uj 


1829-1838.]         Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  57 

The  day  of  the  church  session  Brother  Collinsworth  met 
George,  and  said  to  him,  affectionately  but  decidedly,  "  George, 
these  people  want  you  to  be  recommended  for  license,  but  if 
you  get  the  recommendation  you  must  take  this  coat  off.  No 
man  can  be  licensed  to  preach  in  such  a  coat  as  this." 

"Well,  but,  Uncle  Collinsworth,  I  have  no  other  Sunday 
coat  but  this,  and  it  would  not  be  right  to  throw  it  away  and 
ask  pa  to  get  me  another  one." 

"  I  tell  you,  my  son,  this  coat  must  come  off." 

"  Well,  if  they  are  going  to  license  my  coat,  and  not  me, 
I  will  change  it ;  but  I  don't  expect  to  change  it  until  I  am 
obliged  to  get  another." 

The  church  meeting  was  called,  and  his  application  was 
laid  before  the  Society.  They  were  some  time  on  his  case, 
but  the  preacher  was  in  a  decided  minority,  and  George  and 
his  swallow-tailed  coat  held  the  field. 

"  George,"  said  Brother  Collinsworth,"  why  do  you  wear 
your  hair  as  you  do  ?  All  the  rest  of  the  preachers  wear  their's 
like  Bishop  Asbury  did,  brushed  down,  and  you  brush  yours 
up." 

"  But,  Uncle  Collinsworth,  I  have  a  cowlick  ;  God  made 
my  hair  to  grow  up,  and  I  can't  make  it  grow  down." 

"  Oh,  George,  you  are  too  airy  !  " 

Indeed  he  was  airy,  as  that  word  was  generally  understood. 
His  bright  black  eyes  flashed  like  diamonds,  his  step  was 
as  springy  as  a  deer's,  he  weighed  one  hundred  and  thirty 
pounds.  His  face  and  his  form  were  faultless,  and  he  bore 
himself  like  a  prince  ;  a  smile  which  was  witchery  itself,  flashed 
like  a  sunbeam  over  a  complexion  as  fair  as  a  girl's.  Add  to 
this  a  sweet,  unaffected  simplicity  of  manner  and  a  character 
as  spotless  as  a  maiden's,  and  the  true  picture  of  the  young 
applicant  is  painted.  He  was  recommended,  and  in  March 
he  was  licensed.  The  father  says  in  the  old  memorandum 
book  :  "  George  was  licensed  to  preach,  March  20th,  and 
preached  his  first  sermon  in  Monticello,  Ga.,  March  28th, 
1830,  on  the  text,  '  They  seemed  to  him  as  one  that 
mocked.'      The    Quarterly   Conference    which  licensed  him 


58  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.         tc"AP  in 

was  held  in  Eatonton,  and  presided  over  by  William  Arnold. 
The  faithful  Collinsworth  was  on  hand  and  used  his  best  ef- 
fort to  prevent  the  license  from  being  granted,  but  the  objec- 
tions were  too  trivial,  and  the  young  man  was  licensed  to 
preach  by  a  large  vote.  Let  no  one  censure  the  good  young 
preacher,  for  he  was  not  an  old  man,  not  forty  years  old;  he 
meant  well,  and  in  most  cases  of  like  kind  he  would  have 
done  well.  He  had  no  personal  dislike,  no  pique,  no  preju- 
dice. He  was  aiming  to  do  his  Master's  will,  and  not  even 
the  son  of  the  leading  man  in  his  Conference  and  of  his  tru- 
est friend  could  turn  him  aside  from  his  pathway.  Up  to 
this  time  the   Methodist  preachers  had  been  uniformed.     A 

ight-breasted  cut-away  coat,  a  white  cravat,  a  broad- 
brimmed  hat,  made  a  uniform  somewhat  becoming,  indeed 
very  much  so  to  a  middle-aged  man  of  fine  personal  appear- 
ance, but  to  a  young  fellow  like  George  Tierce  or  Henry 
Bascom  it  was  a  burlesque.  But  the  brass-buttoned  claw- 
hammer coat  was  only  cx'cusable  in  , a  young  preacher  who 
did  nut  have  another.  Dr.  Lovick  Tierce  was  on  the  Clin- 
ton and  Nfilledgeville  appointment,  and  it  was  no  doubt  on  a 
trip  with  him  to  Clinton  that  the  young  preacher  preached 
his  first  sermon  in  Monticcllo,  Jasper  County,  March,  1830. 
It  \\  yeai  before  he  was  to  join  the  Conference,  and 

he  was  now  to  make  preparation  for  his  life-work.  He  read 
the  Methodist  Standards  and  preached  very  frequently.  A 
bright  young  man,  the  brother  of  Ben  H.  Hill,  was  his 
associate  and  preached  with  him.  They  went  to  camp-meet- 
ings, protracted  meetings,  and  on  the  circuits,  and  excited 
immense  sensation.     Rev.  W.  K.  Tranham  says  of  him: 

"  I  heard  what  was  among  his  first  sermons  from  a  tall 
pulpit  in  the  Old  Union  Church  in  Eatonton.  He  spoke 
with  great  rapidity,  began  with  rather  a  high  pitch,  both 
of  voice  and  fervor,  was  highly  figurative  in  style,  ami 
closed  with  but  a  few  pauses  from  beginning  to  end." 

If  this  biography  was  to  be  read  by  Methodists  and  by 
Georgians  alone,  it  would  not  be  needful  to  make  some  ex- 
planations that  I  make  now  and  then  ;   but  Bishop  Tierce  was 


1829-1888.]         iife  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  59 

a  man  of  the  people,  and  many  will  read  this  story  of  his  life 
whose  church  affiliations  are  not  with  the  body  to  which  he 
gave  his  life,  and  without  defence  or  discussion,  I  will  give  a 
little  insight  into  the  economy  of  the  Methodists  as  it  was 
sixty  years  ago,  and  as  it  is  largely  now. 

License  to  preach  does  not  confer  on  the  person  receiving 
it  the  right  to  hold  a  pastoral  relation,  nor  to  administer  the 
sacraments.  To  be  made  a  pastor  one  must  enter  the  itiner- 
ancy, or  the  travelling  connection.  Bishop  Pierce  always 
held  to  an  opinion,  not  the  general  one,  however,  of  the 
Church,  but  his  own,  that  the  call  to  preach  the  Gospel  meant 
to  give  one's  entire  time  to  it,  and  if  the  man  was  a  Methodist 
it  meant  the  travelling  connection  and  nothing  short  of  it. 
The  prospect  before  a  brilliant  young  man  in  this  connection 
sixty  years  ago,  considered  from  a  worldly  stand-point,  was 
not  attractive.  At  this  time  the  severe  privations  and 
dangers  of  the  early  day  were  not  encountered,  but  the  com- 
pensation was  still  small  and  the  work  hard.  There  was  not 
a  Methodist  college  in  the  world  in  1831,  and  few  educated 
men,  in  the  generally  received  meaning  of  that  word,  entered 
the  travelling  connection.  The  Bishop's  kinsmen  and  friends 
believed  he  was  guilty  of  almost  madness  in  this  visionary 
Course.  His  mother  and  his  father,  however,  had  different 
views,  and  with  their  hearty  concurrence  he  applied  to  the 
Georgia  Annual  Conference,  which  met  in  Macon,  January  5, 
1831,  for  admission  into  the  travelling  connection.  With  the 
preachers  of  the  Conference  he  had  been  associated  since  his 
infancy.  He  was  known  to  many,  and  loved  by  all  who 
knew  him.  Lewis  Myers,  his  father's  early  friend  and  Presid- 
ing Elder,  was  temporary  President  of  the  Conference,  as  no 
bishop  was  present.  He  was  a  sturdy  little  German,  with 
unmistakable  brogue.  Firm  as  a  rock  in  his  positions,  brave 
as  a  Spartan  ;  a  man  whose,  it  may  be,  narrow  views  were 
always  supported  by  such  faithful  following  of  conduct  that 
they  won  respect.  Thomas  Samford  was  elected  president, 
and  John  Howard,  his  father's  neighbor  in  Greenesboro,  was 
the  secretary.     William  Arnold,  the  saintly  poetic  evangelist, 


60  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.         [Ciiap.  hi. 

who  had  licensed  him  to  preach;  James  O.  Andrew,  who  had 
led  him  into  the  ministry,  and  his  father  were  among  the 
older  members  of  the  Conference  whom  young  Pierce  had 
known  and  revered.  Men  who,  trained  by  Asbury,  had  as 
yet  broken  away  from  few  of  the  traditions  of  English  Meth- 
odism, which  he  had  brought  to  them.  Then  there  was  a 
body  of  sturdy,  bright  young  men  just  coming  to  the  front. 
Ignatius  Few,  Dot  a  young  man,  but  a  young  preacher; 
tc  Boring,  who  had  won  the  spurs  of  a  brave  knight  by 
hard  work  in  the  Florida  swamps  ;  Jesse,  his  brother,  who, 
not  yet  an  elder,  had  thrilled  and  amazed  the  people  by  his 
weird-like  eloquence  ;  Wesley  1'.  Arnold,  whose  great  soul 
turned  at  once  to  this  bright  young  man,  and  who  loved  him 
more  as  the  years  went  on  ;  W.  J.  Parks,  the  black-eyed, 
Stern-looking,  plain  man  of  the  people,  who  for  the  first  time 
was  put  <mi  a  district,  and  who,  while  he  lived,  was  one  of 
Pierce's  most  valued  friends,  and  Benjamin  Pope  and  Andrew 
Hammi!,  gentle,  cultured,  pious.  These  were  some  of  the 
young  preachers  with' whom  he  cast  his  lot.     The  applicants 

were  eleven  in  number;  of  these,  Archelaus  II.  Mitchell  and 
Abraham  B.  Elliot  are  all  of  this  class  who  are  still  living. 
Mitchell,  Pierce,  and  Elliot  were  all  college  men.  The  cir- 
cuits in  those  days  were  large,  and  two  preachers  were  sent 
to  them.  The  senior  preacher  had  all  the  planning  of  the 
work,  and  the  junior  was  to  act  under  his  direction.  The 
circuits  had  generally  in  their  boundaries  twenty-eight  preach- 
ing places,  which  were  often  in  several  counties.  At  this 
time  the  church  buildings  were  plain  and  rude.  When  young 
Pierce  received  his  appointment  it  was  to  the  Alcovi  Circuit, 
with  Jeremiah  Freeman  as  his  senior  preacher,  and  with  his 
old  friend,  John  Howard,  for  Presiding  Elder.  The  circuit 
began  in  Jasper  County,  included  a  considerable  part  of 
Newton,  nearly  all  of  Putnam,  and  all  of  Morgan.  There 
were  twenty-two  appointments.  Jeremiah  Freeman  was  in 
charge.  The  young  preacher  had  a  Canadian  pony  named 
Prince,  to  whom  the  Bishop,  in  his  old  age,  paid  this  affec- 
tionate tribute:   "In  my  first  circuit  I  had  a  little  Canadian 


1829-1833.]         uje  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  61 

horse,  whom  I  named  Prince,  after  a  Cherokee  chief.  I  rode 
him  up  hill  and  down  hill,  and  never  knew  him  to  tip  his  toe. 
He  was  a  great  favorite  with  the  ladies,  to  whom  I  often  had 
to  surrender  him.  Only  one  horse  have  I  seen  who  would 
take  the  water  like  him.  I  would  put  him  in  any  stream,  and 
with  his  head  piloting  above  the  water,  his  tail  spread  out  like 
a  fan,  not  more  than  one-third  of  his  body  would  sink  in  the 
water,  so  that  the  saddle-bags  would  never  get  wet.  I  after- 
ward sold  him  to  Major  Hall,  of  Greene  County,  who  used  him 
for  twenty-five  years  in  the  collection  of  taxes." 

Bishop  Pierce  had  no  patience  with  a  whining  Methodist 
preacher,  and  a  self-seeking  young  man  was  his  abhorrence. 
Because,  forsooth,  the  young  fledgling  had  a  diploma  in  his 
pocket,  was  that  a  reason  why  he  should  shirk  a  junior  preach- 
er's place  on  a  hard  circuit?  Nay,  verily.  Never  did  one 
enter  more  joyously  or  heartily  into  his  work  than  he  did. 
He  had  lived  in  ease,  the  home  in  Greenesboro  had  been 
one  of  real  comfort.  His  mother  was  a  lady  born  and  bred,  and 
the  blood  of  the  old  Huguenots  was  in  her  veins.  He  had 
just  come  from  college  ;  he  had  been  feted,  and  praised^  and 
petted,  but  he  felt  that  the  place  the  Conference  gave  him  was 
high  enough  and  heavy  enough  for  him.  He  preached  every 
day,  and  often  at  night ;  he  took  the  fare  of  his  circuit  as  it 
came  ;  he  hunted  and  fished  with  the  country  boys  on  his  rest 
day  ;  he  sat  around  the  large  fireplace  of  the  log  cabin,  and 
talked  with  the  old  people  of  every-day  matters,  until  his 
visits  were  looked  for  as  a  benediction.  Rosy,  fresh,  spark- 
ling, manly,  he  won  all  hearts.  Was  a  stream  swollen,  in 
went  Prince  and  his  buoyant  master,  and  the  brave  pony 
swam  the  stream.  Was  rain  falling,  or  snow  pelting,  the  ap- 
pointment must  be  met.  One  day  he  said  :  "  I  rode  ten 
miles,  through  a  drenching  rain,  to  Flatrock  Chapel,  only  to 
find  two  persons  there,  a  man  and  a  boy.  I  was  wet  to  the 
skin  and  benumbed.  After  waiting  a  few  minutes  and  no 
additions  coming,  I  said  :  '  We  might  as  well  leave  here,  as 
there  wili  be  no  congregation.'  The  man  quietly  responded, 
'  Through   five  miles  of  pelting  rain    I  have  come  to  hear 


62  Life  ami  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.         iOsux.  in. 

preaching.'  I  saw  at  once  my  duty,  and  said  :  'You  are 
right,  you  are  entitled  to  it ;  '  and  for  one  hour  I  addressed 
my  little  congregation,  and  was  never  heard  with  more  at- 
tention." 

The  health  of  his  colleague  failed  and  he  was  in  charge 
till  J.  F.  \\  eathersbee  came  to  his  help. 

During  this  year  he  preached  two  hundred  and  eighty- 
seven  times,  and  received  into  the  Church  over  one  hundred 
and  fifty  members.  During  this  year  there  was  a  camp- 
meeting  at  Hastings  Camp  Ground,  in  Greene.  His  old 
friend,  John  Collinsworth,  who  lived  in  Putnam  County,  was 
at  the  camp-meeting.  It  had  rained  and  rained.  The  young 
preacher  came  in  dripping  with  water.  He  had  ridden  all 
day.  He  changed  his  wet  clothing,  and  came  into  his  moth- 
er's tent  for  supper  and  was  sitting  at  the  table  when  Brother 

Hi ns worth  came  in.  "  Why,  George,  you  here  ?  "  "  Yes, 
sir."  "  How  did  you  get  here  ?  "  "  Partly  by  land,  largely 
by  water."  "  Did  you  swim  any  creeks?  "  "Yes,  I  swam 
three."  A  broad  smile  passed  over  the  questioner's  face. 
'•  Weil,  George,  you'll  make  a  Methodist  preacher  after  all." 

The  following  entries  in  the  old  memorandum  book  give 
111  the  only  insight  into  the  finances  of  the  young  man,  whose 
allowance  was  one  hundred  dollars,  but  not  all  paid  : 

Money  to  George,  1831  and  1S32,  by  His  Father. 

To  go  to  Bethel  $5  00 

Augusta  for  hat 5  00 

Ditto  for  horse 3  00 

Greenesboro, trunk 5  00 

Ditto  for  handkerchiefs 1   75 

Money  to  go  down 5  00 

l  tid  Bill  toHaffand  M 600 

Cunningham 26  25 

Redds  cloth 22  50 

$69  50 
Received   George 30  00 

$39  5° 

To  come  home 10  00 

To  Schoonmaker 43  00 

$92  50 


1839-1833.]         [jfe  an(i  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  63 

The  Doctor  makes  an  error  against  himself  of  $10  in  the 
addition,  but  as  it  was  a  pro  forma  matter,  it  perhaps  never 
affected  seriously  the  result,  for  it  is  not  very  likely  the  ac- 
count was  liquidated  or  payment  was  ever  expected. 

His  old  college  mate  and  friend,  Abram  B.  Elliot,  who 
entered  the  Conference  with  him,  is  still  living  and  writes  : 

"  Leeds,  Jefferson  County,  Ala., 
"April  1 8,   1 888. 

"Rev.  G.  G.  Smith. 

"Dear  Brother:  I  noticed  in  the  Nashville  Advocate, 
a  few  numbers  back,  a  letter  from  you,  in  which  you  stated 
that  you  desired  all  the  data  you  could  obtain  in  reference  to 
the  early  life  of  Bishop  Pierce,  as  you  were  writing  his  his- 
tory. And  I  thought,  as  I  was  intimate  with  him  in  his 
college  life,  and  afterward  as  fellow  laborers  of  the  same 
Conference,  viz.,  the  Georgia  Conference,  I  might  fur- 
nish you  with  a  few  incidents  in  his  college  and  itinerant 
course,  of  which  perhaps  you  were  not  in  possession.  I  en- 
tered Franklin  College,  Athens,  Ga.,  in  the  year  1827.  I 
entered  the  sophomore  class,  half  advanced,  and  found 
George  F.  Pierce  in  the  junior  class,  with  Archelaus  H. 
Mitchel  (now  Dr.  A.  H.  Mitchel,  of  the  Alabama  Confer- 
ence). We  three,  I  think,  were  the  only  Methodist  students 
in  college — perhaps  another  or  two.  We  were  all  members 
of  the  same  literary  society,  viz.  :  the  Phi  Kappa.  Conse- 
quently, being  so  closely  associated  together,  we  had  the  op- 
portunity*of  knowing  each  other's  characters,  talents,  piety, 
merits  and  demerits,  etc. 

"We  sat  under  the  ministry  of  such  men  as  James  O. 
Andrew  (stationed  at  Athens  before  he  became  bishop),  Dr. 
Ignatius  A.  Few,  and  Dr.  Stephen  Olin  (professor  in  col- 
lege). We  attended  class-meetings  together  (for  those  were 
the  days  of  class-meetings),  and  often  were  made  happy.  I 
love  to  dwell  on  the  sweet  reminiscences  of  those  halcyon 
days  of  college  life.  In  reference  to  my  early  and  life-long 
friend,  George  F.  Pierce,  I  have  to  say,  I  loved  him  first  and 


61  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.         (r,IU*- In- 

last  like  a  blood-born  brother.  Indeed,  he  was  universally 
beloved  by  the  Presidents  (Drs.  Waddell  and  Church),  the 
professors  and  students  of  the  college. 

"  In  our  society  meetings  George  did  not  participate  often 
in  our  debates.  Indeed,  he  often  said  he  could  not  debate. 
He  always,  when  he  spoke,  had  a  written  speech,  and  read 
it  in  the  society  ;  but  they  were  speeches  indeed.  They  were 
redolent  with  figures  and  flowers.  Such  lofty  flights  of 
imagination  and  eloquence!  so  rapid  in  enunciation  that 
it  was  difficult  to  keep  up  with  him.  It  may  justly  be 
said  of  him,  '  Nascitur  orator.'  I  know  the  old  adage  is, 
'  Poeta  nascitur,  et  orator  fit ;'  'a  poet  is  born  a  poet,  but  an 
orator  is  made.'  Brother  Pierce's  first  year  in  the  itinerancy 
was  on  the-  Alcovi  Circuit,  the  circuit  in  which  I  was  raised. 
He  was  junior  preacher  with  Rev.  Jeremiah  Freeman.  His 
praise,  as  a  preacher,  was  on  the  tongue  of  all  who  heard 
him.  He  had  overcome  his  embarrassment  about  off-hand 
.debating  or  speaking.  When  I  heard  him  last  his  manner 
moderate,  cool,  calm,  and  deliberate,  yet  the  ardor  and 
fire  of  his  college  days  had  not  expired.  George  had  a  streak 
of  humor  and  fun  in  his  nature  in  his  college  days,  and  it 
developed  itself  often  after  he  became  a  preacher. 

'•  Your  octogenarian  brother  and  friend, 

"  Abram  B.  Elliot." 

Mr.  J.  X.  Wilson,  of  Decatur,  Ga.,  gives  us  the  following 
pleasant  chapter  of  recollections  : 

"I  remember  him.  I  was  a  boy  of  some  twe^e  years  ; 
lived  near  a  church  in  the  bounds  of  his  work  that  year, 
where  my  father  had  his  membership  ;  it  was  in  Putnam 
County,  and  the  church  had  a  large  membership  ;  in  the 
midst  of  a  wealthy  community,  the  congregations  on  Sunday 
were  very  large,  and  the  young  preacher  would  hold  them 
spellbound  during  the  delivery  of  his  sermons,  which  never 
exceeded  thirty  or  forty  minutes  in  length.  He  was  a  mag- 
netic speaker,  a  perfect  orator,  of  splendid  appearance,  com- 
bining all  the  essential  elements  that  go  to  make  a  charming, 


1829-1833.]         Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  65 

popular  preacher  ;  indeed,  it  was  the  oft-repeated  prediction 
of  many,  that  the  danger  was  '  he  would  become  very  soon  a 
spoiled  chap,'  from  the  flattery  and  encomium  heaped  upon 
him.  There  were  a  few  well-educated,  refined,  and  beautiful 
young  ladies  of  his  congregation  that  were  his  most  inter- 
ested hearers  and  admirers,  and  it  was  expected  by  some 
that  the  famous  orator  and  preacher  would  be  captivated  by 
their  charms  before  the  year  expired  ;  but  nothing  of  the 
sort — he  was  invulnerable  to  all  the  beauty  and  captivating 
manners  of  the  young  ladies.  I  wish  I  could  give  you  some 
points  of  decided  interest,  so  that  you  could  incorporate 
them  in  the  history  and  biography  of  the  wonderful  man 
whose  life  you  are  writing  ;  but  I  can  call  to  mind  no  event 
of  special  interest  as  occurring  during  the  year  1831  ;  ex- 
cept, I  might  say,  his  preaching  did  build  up  the  church,  and 
many  additions  were  made.  At  a  night  service  at  the  church 
I  have  mentioned,  there  were  several  converts  among  the 
many  mourners  at  the  altar.  I  distinctly  remember  the  pony 
he  rode,  mention  of  which  was  made  in  an  interview  had 
with  the  bishop  by  a  Constitution  reporter  a  few  days  before 
his  golden  wedding  in  1884.  He  was  indeed  a  superb 
pacer,  rapid  and  sure  of  foot  ;  he  was  about  as  fine  a  speci- 
men of  the  horse  as  was  his  owner  of  the  '  genus  homo' 
I  here  declare  what  I  have  often  said,  and  what  others, 
perhaps  better  judges  of  such  matters  have  said,  that  George 
F.  Pierce  was  the  finest-looking  man  I  ever  beheld.  His 
like,  in  everything,  appearance,  magnetism,  eloquence,  and 
true  Christian  character,  I  shall  never  see  again.  The  next 
year,  1832,  he  was  sent  to  Augusta  as  junior  preacher,  J.  O. 
Andrew  being  preacher  in  charge.  My  father  used  to  go  to 
Augusta  frequently  in  the  fall  of  every  year  to  sell  cotton. 
He  would  make  it  a  point  to  get  to  Augusta  on  Saturday, 
and  lay  over  until  Monday,  so  that  he  could  attend  church  on 
Sunday  and  hear  George  preach — he  was  a  great  admirer  of 
him.  From  this  time  until  he  became  President  of  the  Wes- 
leyan  Female  College  in  Macon,  I  saw  nothing  of  him.  At 
a  camp  meeting  in  Meriwether  County,  near  the  Warm 
5 


C6  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.         [Chap.  EH 

Spring?,  in  1841,  he  preached  at  3  P.M.  on  Sunday,  and 
created  the  greatest  excitement  I  ever  witnessed.  The  altar 
was  filled  with  penitents  ;  many  were  converted,  and  the 
shouts  of  new-born  souls,  together  with  the  hosannas  of  the 
Christian  people,  were  truly  great.  No  more  preaching  that 
evening,  though  the  shouting  and  singing  went  on  until  a  late 
hour  in  the  night." 

The  Conference  of  1S32  met  in  Augusta,  and  of  course  he 
attended  it,  for  while  the  system  of  examining  young  preachers 
on  a  course  of  stud}-  did  not  at  that  time  obtain,  and  proba- 
tioners were  not  always  expected  at  the  conference  session, 
yet  as  the  place  of  meeting  was  near  home  and  as  it  was 
pleasant  to  go,  he  went.  At  this  Conference  two  young  men 
came  for  admission  who  were,  as  long  as  they  lived,  to  be 
his  true  yoke-fellows  and  among  the  number  of  his  dearest 
friends,  Caleb  \V.  Key  and  Samuel  Anthony.  Caleb,  as  he 
call-  '1  Key,  as  long  as  he  lived  was  very  dear  to  him.  He 
was  a  man  of  affairs,  clear-headed,  courteous  in  manner,  pure 
in  speech,  an  earnest,  effective  preacher,  who  filled  for  many 

trs  the  best  appointments  in  the  St.ite,  a  man  who  could 
always  be  trusted  to  do  the  work  given  him.  Anthony  was 
a  man  of  moat  remarkable  traits.  Converted  after  he 
married,  at  that  time  almost  entirely  without  education,  he 
became  a  man  of  fine  theological  attainments.  His  piety  was 
wonderfully  deep,  his  iron  will  was  always  on  the  side  of  the 
true  and  good.  1 1  is  preaching  was  with  real  power,  and 
almost  marvellous  effects  attended  his  labors.  He  labored 
side  by  side  with  Bishop  Pierce  in  many  a  field  and  they 
•her  in  many  a  combat. 

Bishop  Hedding  presided,  and  when  the  Conference  was 
over,  James  O.  Andrew  and  George  F.  Pierce  were  sent  to- 
gether t<>  Augusta. 

Mr.  Andrew  had  been  elected  to  the  General  Conference, 
and  as  it  met  in  Philadelphia  and  he  expected  to  be  gone 
for  three  months,  it  was  needful  to  supply  him  with  an  as- 
sistant. 

James  O.  Andrew  was  then  in  the  zenith  of  his  glory  as 


1839-1883.]         Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  67 

a  preacher,  and  his  fame  was  in  all  the  land.  The  church  in 
Augusta  in  which  Lovick  Pierce  preached  in  1807  was  still 
standing,  and  only  changed  by  being  lengthened.  The  sensa- 
tion produced  by  the  young  orator  was  immense,  and  con- 
tinued all  the  year  through.  He  was  the  wonder  of  all.  Now 
just  twenty-one,  graceful,  handsome,  simple  in  habits,  and 
blessed  with  all  the  needful  qualities  of  an  orator,  he  drew 
great  crowds  to  hear  him.  He  made  his  home  with  Bishop 
Andrew,  and  when  Andrew  went  to  Philadelphia  he  had 
charge  of  the  church  until  after  his  colleague  returned,  a 
bishop,  when  Cassell  Harrison  was  sent  in  charge.  The  two 
young  preachers  moved  on  harmoniously  and  happily  to- 
gether. There  was  a  dangerous  atmosphere  for  such  a  young 
man  in  Augusta  then  ;  but,  added  to  his  native  good  sense 
and  pure  piety,  he  had  the  home  influence  of  Bishop  Andrew's 
household.  Amelia  Andrew  was  old  enough  to  advise  him, 
and  young  enough  to  understand  him.  She  loved  him  as  an 
older  sister  would  have  loved  him,  and  he  loved  her;  and 
when  her  husband  had  made  up  his  mind  to  go  to  Africa  as 
a  missionary,  if  the  Church  said  so,  she  wrote  that  "  George 
Pierce  says  he  will  go  with  us." 

It  was  greatly  to  his  advantage  that  he  had  such  friends,  and 
years  afterward,  when  he  preached  Bishop  Andrew's  funeral 
sermon,  he  told  of  how  much  he  owed  to  him  and  his  good 
wife  in  this  critical  period  of  his  history.  Although  he  was 
surrounded  with  so  many  perils  he  lived  so  humbly,  so  purely, 
so  consistently  that  not  a  stain  was  on  his  fair  name.  He  had 
but  one  aim — to  save  the  souls  of  his  people.  He  preached 
three  times  each  Sunday  and  ortce  during  the  week  ;  the  re- 
vival was  continuous  during  the  year,  and  having  done  his 
work  well  he  went  to  the  Conference  at  La  Grange  for  his 
new  appointment.  La  Grange  was  directly  across  the  State, 
over  two  hundred  and  fifty  miles  from  Augusta,  and  the  whole 
trip  was  to  be  made  by  private  conveyance.  There  was  no 
railway,  no  steamboats  ;  the  r,  ads  were  wretched.  For  a 
hundred  miles  the  country  was  comparatively  new.  The  dis- 
comforts of  the  journey  of  near  ten  days  over  most  execrable 


68  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.         [Cnxr.  m 

roads  were  many,  and  formed  the  topic  of  many  a  merry 
conversation  in  after-time.  La  Grange  was  a  charming  young 
town,  and  many  of  his  old  friends  from  Greene  were  already 
established  there.  Bishop  Andrew  presided  at  this  time.  A 
young  man  came  into  the  Conference  who  was  to  be  closer 
to  George  Pierce  for  fifty  years  than  perhaps  any  other  man 
of  the  body,  and  who  was  to  enjoy,  and  who  deserved  to  en- 
joy, his  fullest  confidence  until  his  death.  This  was  James  E. 
Bvans,  the  son  of  a  Methodist  itinerant  preacher,  who  had 
been  forced  to  location.  Descended  from  old  Welsh  stock,  he 
had  inherited  a  magnificent  body  and  a  gifted  mind.  That 
rich  affluence  of  language,  and  that  warmth  of  emotion  which 
belong  to  the  gifted  Welsh,  belonged  in  high  degree  to  him. 
Deeply  pious,  highly  gifted,  graceful  in  manner,  strong  in 
good  sense,  an  orator  born,  he  won  as  many  trophies  for  his 
Lord  as  any  man  of  hi-  d 

When  the  Conference  closed  George  F.  Pierce  found  him- 
self placed  in  charge  of  Savannah,  with  Andrew  liammill  as 
his  presiding  elder. 

During  these  first  years  of  his  ministry  he  found  himself 
speculating,  as  nearly  all  young  preachers  do,  and  some  of 
those  great  unanswered,  and  perhaps  unanswerable,  questions 
which  thcol  science  propounds,  came  before  him.     He 

came  to  his  father  for  light,  and  in  a  long  and  most  carefully 
prepared  article  the  doctor  makes  effort  to  answer  the  ques- 
tion as  to  whether  the  Divine  Nature  suffered  in  the  sufferings 
of  Christ. 

With  what  satisfaction  the  son  received  the  answer  I  do 
not  know  ;  but  I  remember  he  told  me  once  that  in  his  early 
ministry  he  had  a  strong  inclination  to  turn  aside  into  the 
realm  of  speculation,  but  "  I  saw,"  he  said,  "  it  would  ruin 
me,  and  I  dropped  it  at  once."  So  ended  the  two  years  of 
his  novitiate.  lie  was  now  admitted  into  full  connection,  and 
placed  in  charge  of  the  leading  station  in  his  Conference. 

Savannah,  to  which  he  was  appointed,  was  the  largest 
city  in  Georgia,  but  there  was  no  community  in  the  State  in 
which  Methodism  had  had  such  a  struggle  for  existence,  and 


REV.  JAMES    E.   EVANS,   D.D. 


1829-1833.]         Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  69 

in  which  it  had  been  for  so  long  a  time  so  feeble.  A  succes- 
sion of  gracious  revivals,  however,  beginning  in  1818,  had 
established  the  Church  upon  a  firm  footing.  The  city  had,  at 
this  time,  perhaps  eight  thousand  inhabitants,  and  the  Meth- 
odists had  one  church,  which  was  located  in  the  oldest  and 
least  fashionable  part  of  the  city.  It  was  the  same  church 
which  James  Russell  had  sacrificed  himself  to  build,  and  in 
which  Lovick  Pierce  had  preached  when  an  army  chaplain  in 
1 8 14.  The  most  prominent  and  useful  men  of  the  South  Caro- 
lina Conference  have  filled  the  station  before  the  division  of  the 
Conference.  William  Capers-,  James  O.  Andrew,  John  How- 
ard, Ignatius  A.  Few,  had  been  there,  and  Elijah  Sinclair  had 
just  ended  his  pastorate.  For  years  every  man  who  had 
been  sent  to  the  station  had  been  a  man  of  mature  years, 
married  and  settled,  but  now  the  work  was  put  in  charge  of  a 
young  man,  not  yet  ordained  an  elder,  who  was  only  twenty- 
two  years  old.  He  says  of  this  appointment,  in  his  speech  at 
his  golden  wedding: 

"In  1833  I  was  stationed  in  Savannah.  From  some  cause 
there  was  a  division  in  the  church,  and  I  could  not  board  with 
one  party  without  alienating  the  other.  The  bishop  advised 
me  to  occupy  the  parsonage.  So  I  set  up  house-keeping — a 
regular  '  bachelor's  hall.'  A  dreary,  monotonous  time  I  had 
of  it.  I  endured  it  more  than  half  the  year  and  then  engaged 
an  old  sister  in  the  church  to  come  and  keep  house  for  me.  She 
relieved  the  solitude  a  little,  improved  my  fare  very  much, 
but  did  not  fill  the  vacuum.  The  fact  was,  I  needed  a  helpmeet 
in  every  department.  I  testify  to  the  Scripture  doctrine, 
'It  is  not  good  for  man  to  be  alone.'  " 

The  fame  of  the  young  orator  had  preceded  him,  and  he 
attracted  much  attention  at  once.  The  crowds  were  large,  the 
hearing  was  all  he  could  ask,  but,  alas  !  there  were  no  results. 
No  mourners  came  forward  for  prayer  ;  no  one  was  converted. 
This  state  of  things  became  so  painful  that  he  began  to  suffer 
the  greatest  agony  of  soul.  One  Sunday  morning  he  preached 
a  sermon  with  which  he  hoped  to  move  the  sinners  to  action. 
He  preached  with  fervor   and  eloquence.     He  expected  re- 


70  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.Pierce.         [Okap.HL 

suits  and  he  made  his  proposition;  but  not  a  person  moved. 
He  went  home  in  deepest  grief,  disappointed,  miserable. 
He  told  me  he  felt  as  if  he  could  not  live.  He  ate  neither 
dinner  nor  supper,  and  when  he  went  to  the  pulpit  he  went  so 
burdened  that  he  could  not  preach,  as  he  thought,  at  all. 
After  concluding,  as  he  expressed  it,  some  kind  of  a  sermon, 
he  decided  to  try  again,  and  again  invited  seekers  of  religion, 
and  the  altar  rail  was  crowded.  A  revival  thus  began,  which 
continued  during  the  year.  Among  his  parishioners  was  Ben- 
jamin Snider,  a  prosperous  young  merchant.  lie  had  come 
from  the  old  Saltzburghers  stock  and  had  been  converted 
under  John  II  ward's  earnest  ministry,  and  a  few  years  be- 
fore this  time  had  married  a  young  New  York  widow.  They 
had  a  sweet  and  happy  home,  and  in  it  the  pastor  found  a 
cordial  welcome.  To  Savannah,  with  her  sister,  some  ten 
years  before,  came  Ann  Maria  Waldron,  a  fair  young  maiden. 
He  met  her.     The  rest  of  the  story  he  tells  himself: 

"  This  year  I  met  Miss  Ann  Maria  Waldron.  She  was 
small,  spry,  active,  elastic  as  a  willow-twig,  and  buoyant  as 
a  bird  upon  the  wing.  She  weighed  about  ninety  pounds. 
Since  I  took  charge  of  her  she  has  developed  into  fair  matronly 
proportions.  Hut  I  anticipate.  On  further  acquaintance  I 
found  Miss  Waldron  modest,  sensible,  practical,  religious,  and 
poor.  She  was  no  heiress,  and  I  was  no  fortune-hunter.  I 
used  to  tell  my  mother  and  sisters  that  when  I  found  an 
orphan  girl  with  few  or  no  kin,  and  no  more  property  than  I, 
if  she  suited  in  other  respects  I  would  marry.  I  was  poor, 
but  proud  and  independent,  and  was  firmly  resolved  that  I 
would  never  wed  a  wealthy  girl.  I  was  afraid  she  might,  in 
some  of  the  irritations  of  life,  taunt  me  with  the  fact  that  I 
was  living  on  her  money,  that  she  supported  me,  had  lifted 
me  from  the  ashes  and  given  me  position  in  the  world.  Any- 
thing like  this  from  the  lips  of  the  woman  I  loved  I  felt  would 
be  an  immedicable  wound.  I  did  not  mean  to  risk  it.  I  in- 
tended my  wife  should  depend  on  me,  and  that  we  would  rise 
or  sink  together.  Miss  Waldron  filled  my  bill,  but  the  young 
lady  was   shy — retiring— and  I  had  to  court  her.      I  was  a 


MISS    ANN    M.    WALDRON. 


1829-1833.]         Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  71 

young  preacher,  and  I  had  to  be  prudent,  cautious,  in  order  to 
avoid  gossip.  Well,  things  moved  on  in  the  natural  way 
to  the  end  of  the  year.  There  had  been  no  decision,  no 
understanding  between  us.  The  time  had  come — I  must 
know  my  fate.  I  went  round  to  interview  the  young  lady. 
I  was  honest,  honorable — did  not  mean  to  deceive  in  any- 
thing. I  drew  a  gloomy,  woful  picture  of  a  Methodist 
preacher's  life,  its  changes,  hardships,  inconveniences  —  its 
slender  uncertain  income,  and  that  I  had  nothing  outside  of  it. 
'  I  am  going  up  to  Conference,  not  knowing  the  things  that 
will  befall  me  there.'  I  made  out  a  strong  unattractive  case, 
for  I  meant  to  test  the  little  woman's  pluck.  '  Now  suppose  I 
am  sent  to  Macon ' — then  a  new  town — '  will  you  go  with  me  ?  ' 
She  did  not  look  ugly  nor  mad,  but  she  dropped  her  head 
and  turned  her  face  away.  I  pressed  for  an  answer.  Like 
Isaac's  servant,  when  he  was  sent  for  Rebecca,  I  said  '  I  would 
not  go  until  I  had  gotten  an  answer ; '  and  at  last,  like  Rebecca, 
she  said,  '  I  will  go.'  I  was  returned  to  Savannah,  with  private 
information  from  the  bishop  that  if  Dr.  Capers  was  transferred 
to  Georgia,  then  I  was  to  leave  and  go  to  Charleston.  We  con- 
cluded if  we  could  live  separately  in  either  of  these  cities 
we  could  live  together.  So  we  married  on  this  night  fifty 
years  ago. 

"In  a  few  days  a  letter  from  the  bishop  ordered  me  to 
Charleston.  It  was  necessary  now  for  me  to  look  into  my 
financial  condition.  This  was  short  work.  I  overhauled  my 
assets  and  found  that  I  owed  no  man  anything,  and  that  I 
had  a  free  cash  capital  of  eleven  dollars.  I  said,  '  Ann,  how 
much  money  have  you?'  She  answered,  '  Five  dollars.1 
Eleven  and  five  make  sixteen,  and  this  was  our  outfit  for  a 
pilgrimage  of  half  a  century.  We  landed  in  Charleston, 
strangers,  in  a  strange  city,  all  expenses  paid  and  an  unex- 
pended surplus  of  two  dollars  and  fifty  cents.  The  rain  was 
falling  heavily,  the  streets  were  empty,  not  a  carriage  to  be 
found,  and,  getting  a  dray  to  carry  our  baggage,  we  footed  it 
through  a  drenching  shower,  two  miles  to  the  parsonage.  A 
more  forlorn  and  bedraggled  pair  as  to  our  outward  seeming 


72  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.         [Chap.  hi. 

it  would  have  been  hard  to  find.  But  our  hopes  did  not  de- 
cline nor  our  love  grow  cold.  This  was  the  first  and  darkest 
shadow  upon  our  pathway — and  the  last." 

In  that  same  speech  the  bishop  says  of  the  maiden  he  had 
chosen  :  "  If  my  wife  will  forgive  me,  I  will  say  I  might  have 
found  a  more  beautiful  maiden — one  of  more  literary  culture 
— but  a  truer  woman,  a  better  wife,  a  more  prudent  counsellor, 
a  wiser  manager,  a  more  fertile,  tidy  house-keeper,  I  could 
not  have  found  between  Tybee  light-house  and  Rabun  Gap, 
or  Tallulah  Falls  and  the  lakes  of  Florida. 

"  I  reckon  we  have  had  about  as  much  of  sunshine  as  falls 
to  the  lot  of  humanity.  1  wish  I  could  say  1  have  never  spoken 
a  harsh  or  hasty  word  ;  but  candor  compels  me  to  say  that 
sometimes,  not  often,  yet  more  than  once,  I  have  transgressed. 
Nor  is  my  better  half  absolutely  sinless.  We  are  both  quick- 
tempered and  impatient,  and  now  and  then,  in  the  worry  and 
fret  of  life,  we  have  spoken  unadvisedly  ;  but  by  mutual 
agreement  we  had  a  prompt  and  efficient  remedy  for  these 
little  irritations.  When  we  had  retired  at  night  something 
like  this  has  taken  place  :  'Mr.  Pierce  "(so  she  always  calls  me), 
I  ipoke  cn  U  to-day;   I  am  sorry  for  it.     Forgive  me. 

Kiss  me,  and  let  me  feel  that  you  are  not  hurt  with  me.'     Suf- 
fice it  to  say  the  kiss  was  always  given.     Or,  perhaps,  I  would 

,  '  Ann,  I  answered  you  abruptly  this  morning,  and  you 
thought  unkindly  ;  but  I  did  not  mean  it  so.  It  is  my  pur- 
pose never  to  wound  your  feelings.'  At  once  the  sky  was 
clear,  the  winds  hushed,  the  billows  were  still,  and  we  were 
at  rest  in  our  usual  domestic  haven." 

I  have  anticipated  a  little.     We  return. 

The  year  passed  happily  and  profitably,  and  he  went  to 
Washington  to  the  Conference,  over  which  Robert  Emory 
presided.  It  was  at  this  Conference  that  Olin  and  Few 
crossed  swords  on  the  question  of  what  Georgia  should  do  for 
Randolph  Macon  College  in  Virginia;  few  contending  for 
the  Manual  Labor  School  here  and  Olin  for  the  College  in 
Virginia,  and  that  Allen  Turner  boldly  opposed  them  both, 
stating  that  Georgia  needed  a  college  of  her  own,  and  should 


J829-1833.]         iife  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  73 

have  one,  and  more  than  that,  she  would.  Whether  young 
Pierce,  who  in  after-time  always  took  a  full  hand  in  confer- 
ence debates,  raised  his  voice  in  this  discussion  I  cannot  tell, 
but  that  he  was  intensely  interested  in  it  no  one  can  doubt. 
There  were  grave  reasons  why  he  should  for  the  time  being 
change  his  conference  relations,  and  after  the  appointments 
were  read  out  he  was  transferred  to  the  South  Carolina  Con- 
ference and  appointed  as  second  man  to  Charleston ;  so  to 
Charleston  went  the  young  preacher  and  his  fair  bride. 

Methodism  had  gained  a  foothold  in  Charleston  thirty 
years  before  she  had  done  so  in  Savannah,  but  from  the 
very  beginning  the  Church  had  been  sadly  torn  by  dis- 
cords, and  one  of  the  most  serious,  and  needless,  and  pain- 
ful divisions  in  her  history  had  just  taken  place  during  the 
year  preceding  Mr.  Pierce's  appointment  as  one  of  the  trio 
of  preachers  who  were  to  fill  the  Methodist  pulpits  in  the 
city.  There  were  three  churches,  Trinity,  Bethel,  and  Cum- 
berland. There  were  three  preachers,  and  nine  sermons  were 
to  be  preached  every  Sunday,  and  three  during  the  week. 
The  Rev.  William  Martin,  one  of  the  bishop's  colleagues,  is 
still  living,  and  he  writes  : 

"Columbia,  S.  C,  January  16,  1888. 

"My  love  for  the  father  and  the  son  was  so  great,  while 
living,  that  it  is  pleasant  still  to  think  of  them.  My  acquaint- 
ance with  them  began  in  January,  1830,  and  the  friendship 
then  formed  continued  without  interruption  until  they,  one 
after  the  other,  ascended  to  the  regions  of  everlasting  life. 
George,  a  lovely  young  man,  was  then  reading  law,  which 
he  soon  after  laid  aside,  with  all  its  alluring  prospects,  and  en- 
tered into  the  'glorious  ministry  of  the  blessed  God.' 

"  In  January  of  1834,  George,  at  the  close  of  his  third  year 
of  his  ministry  in  the  Georgia  Conference,  was  transferred  to 
the  S.  C.  Conference,  and  stationed  in  the  City  of  Charles- 
ton. I  met  him  at  the  wharf,  and  conducted  himself  with  his 
bride  to  the  parsonage,  their  new  home,  where  we  became 
one  family  for  the  year. 


74  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.         [Chap,  ill 

"  I  lis  fame  as  an  orator  had  preceded  him,  and  all  our  peo- 
ple were  in  eager  expectation,  and  they  were  not  disappointed. 
The  universal  testimony  was  that  he  had  never  been  equalled 
in  our  pulpits.  Crowds  followed  him  ;  all  classes,  the  high 
and  the  low,  rich  and  poor,  white  and  black,  hung  with  almost 
breathless  attention  upon  the  breathing  thoughts  and  burning 
words  that  fell  from  his  lips.  I  seldom  heard  him  except  at 
our  week-night  meetings,  but  even  there  he  was  truly,  grand- 
ly sublime.  Nor  was  the  word  by  him  in  beauty  and  sub- 
limity only,  but  attended  with  power  and  demonstration  of 
the  Holy  Spirit;  there  was  Divine  unction  in  it.  At  camp- 
meetings,  where  he  preached  to  between  four  and  five  thou- 
sand people,  the  effect  of  his  preaching  was  overwhelming. 
This  was  only  the  fourth  year  of  his  ministry. 

"  As  to  his  personal  appearance,  take  him  all  in  all,  his 
entire  make-up  from  head  to  foot,  I  thought  then  and  I  think- 
still,  that  he  was  one  of  the  finest-looking,  most  perfectly 
formed  men  I  had  ever  seen.  His  like  in  personal  appear- 
ance, mental  ability,  and  preaching  power  I  have  never 
known. 

"  It  so  happened  that  on  a  certain  Wednesday  night,  the 

alar  appointment  f  >;  to  preach,   there  was  a  very 

strong  inducement  for  himself  and  his  young  wife  to  be  else- 
where. Seeing  and  appreciating  his  position,  I  proposed  to 
preach  for  him  ;  but  after  a  few  moments'  thought,  he  said, 
'  Xo,  I  will  fill  my  appointment,  that  is  the  path  of  duty.'  I 
went  with  him,  and  he  preached  on  the  text,  '  My  heart  shall 
not  reproach  me,  so  long  as  I  live.'  Job  xxvii.  6.  The  con- 
gregation was  small,  but  the  preacher  seemed  inspired,  and 
the  house  was  filled  with  the  glory  of  God.  His  presence 
was  felt  by  all,  and  I  doubt  if  one  present  ever  forgot  that 
sermon.  I  presume  most  of  those  present  that  night  are 
now  with  the  glorified  preacher  in  heaven.  That  text  was 
his  motto  through  life  ;  it  has  been  mine. 

"  Yours  truly, 

"William  Martin." 


WM.    MARTIN. 


1829-1833.]         iife  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  75 

The  young  Georgian  was  the  marvel  of  Charleston,  and 
men  who  had  not  been  used  to  attend  the  Methodist  chapels, 
as  they  called  them,  were  found  in  their  places  every  Sun- 
day. During  the  year  before  there  had  been  a  great  seces- 
sion of  negro  members,  but  still  a  large  number  filled  the 
galleries.  During  the  autumn  months  the  great  camp-meet- 
ing near  the  city  was  held,  and  thousands  attended  it.  Here 
he  was  in  his  element,  and  his  preaching  was  marvellously 
eloquent  and  moving.  He  lived  in  the  parsonage  with  his 
bachelor  colleague.  The  gentle  wife  received  and  has  pre- 
served for  over  fifty  years  the  following  letter  from  his 
father  : 

"Athens,  March  i,  1834. 

"  My  Dear  Ann  Maria:  I  am  quite  unwell,  sitting  by 
a  small  fire  and  the  wind  whistling  around  me  in  chilling 
blasts.  And  having  read  as  long  as  my  failing  eyes  can  well 
bear,  I  concluded  I  would  send  you  a  few  fatherly  lines.  My 
hand  trembles  so  I  am  almost  deterred  from  my  purpose. 

"  You  have,  in  becoming  a  minister's  wife— especially  an 
itinerant  minister — engaged  in  one  of  the  most  responsible 
stations  ever  occupied  by  a  woman.  It  is  to  be  a  helpmeet, 
not  only  in  secular  and  temporal  things,  but  in  saving  souls. 
Therefore  have  it  deeply  and  piously  engraved  upon  your 
mind,  and  upon  your  heart,  that  no  talents  ever  imparted  to 
man,  nor  labors  done  by  him,  can  be  largely  useful,  unless 
his  wife  be  blameless  in  her  life,  pious  and  consistent  in  her 
manners,  and  co-operating  in  her  expressions,  feelings,  and 
principles  with  her  husband  in  his  high,  holy,  and  peculiar 
functions  and  duties.  A  faithful  and  useful  minister's  wife, 
if  she  be  a  true  yoke-fellow  in  the  kingdom  of  Jesus,  is  one 
of  the  most  respected  and  valued  beings  in  the  world,  by  all 
good  people.  George  has  selected  you  to  be  his  partner,  as 
well  in  his  toils  and  sorrows  as  in  his  ease  and  comforts. 
And  such  I  fully  believe  you  aim  and  intend  to  be.  You  will 
necessarily  have  many  privations  and  sufferings  not  common 
to  wives  of  merchants,  planters,  etc.  And  so  also  will  you 
have   many  pleasures  not  common  to  them.     All  depends 


76  Life  and  Times,  of  George  F.  Pierce.         [Chap.  hi. 

through   grace,  on  being  satisfied  with  having  your  inheri- 
tance beyond  this  terrestrial  scene. 

"  My  dear  Ann,  I  have  seen  many  of  our  young  preach- 
ers make  themselves  contemptible,  by  what  they  alleged  to 
be  a  respectful  compliance  with  the  wishes  of  a  fond  wife, 
in  neglecting  their  ministerial  duties,  and  letting  the  idea 
get  out  that  their  wife  could  not  bear  their  absence,  and  all 
such  nonsense.  I  hope  you  and  George  will  banish  from  you 
such  disgusting  foolishness.  Always  remember  that  fondness 
misplaced  and  overacted  is  weakness,  ignorance,  and  folly 
displayed.  Persons  without  fortitude  enough  to  sustain  them 
under  life's  common  demands  ought  never  t<>  marry.  And 
persons  who  might  have  it,  but  affect  a  want  of  it  to  bring 
themselves  into  notice  as  uncommonly  attacked,  are  always 
despised  by  all  well-bred  persons.  Excuse  my  freedom  of 
address,  for  I  am  persuaded  better  things  of  you  both, 
though  I  thus  write,  and  things  that  accompany  good  sense, 
good  breeding,  and  constant  piety.  He  faithful,  pray  much, 
and  live  a  life  of  daily  sclf-saerijiee.  If  you  can't  read  this 
scribble,  George  can.  I  am  to-day  very  nervous.  I  left 
home  eight  days  ago. 

"  Make  George  study  a  great  deal,  and  as  far  as  you  can, 
do  you  do  the  same. 

"  I  am,  affectionately  yours, 

"  Lovick  Pierce." 

During  the  year  he  was  in  Charleston  he  preached  one 
hundred  and  seventy-two  times.  The  Georgia  Conference 
had  merely  loaned  him  to  South  Carolina,  and  the  bishop  re- 
called him  at  the  next  Conference  and  sent  him  to  Augusta 
in  charge  of  the  station. 

Of  this  period  of  his  ministry  there  are  but  few  records. 
He  was  now  not  only  becoming  famous,  but,  young  as  he  was, 
he  was  the  most  famous  man  of  his  State.  Great  crowds  fol- 
lowed him.  His  style  was  rich  in  its  luxuriance,  and  he  held 
the  congregation  he  had  gathered  by  his  wondrous  gifts.  The 
Augusta  church,  to  which  he  ministered  as  a  junior  preacher, 


1829-1833.]  life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  77 

now  received  him  as  its  pastor.  There  was  the  old  church 
built  by  Stith  Mead,  and  the  little  wooden  parsonage  built  by- 
Bishop  Andrew  in  1820.  The  church  was  plain,  unpretend- 
ing. It  was  of  wood,  eighty  feet  long  by  forty  wide,  two 
tiers  of  windows,  and  a  gallery.  The  membership  was  less 
than  three  hundred,  but  there  were  some  substantial  and 
even  wealthy  people  in  it.  The  growth  of  the  church  had 
been  very  rapid  for  the  several  years  since  Andrew  came, 
and  it  was  now  a  strong  church.  The  young  preacher  and 
his  young  wife  took  up  their  home  in  the  parsonage,  and 
during  that  year  Ella  was  born.  Years  afterward,  on  her 
birthday,  her  father  wrote  her  of  the  joys  of  that  morning, 
and  of  how  he  gave  his  daughter  back  to  God,  and  of  how  he 
had  always  been  grateful  to  God  for  the  gift  of  his  little  girl. 
He  had  his  hands  full  of  work.  He  preached  three  times 
every  Sunday,  and  on  Wednesday  night.  On  Monday  night 
he  had  prayer-meeting,  on  Tuesday  afternoon  class,  on  Wed- 
nesday night  preaching,  on  Thursday  night  leaders'  meeting, 
on  Friday  night  love-feast  and  society  meeting.  The  suc- 
cess attending  his  work  during  the  year  was  not  equal  to  that 
of  some  years.  He  had  received  about  seventy  into  the 
Church.  He  was  a  very  diligent  and  careful  student  of  the 
standard  works  of  Arminian  theology,  and  kept  up  with  all 
the  good  literature  of  the  times.  His  fame  had  reached 
other  sections  of  the  land,  and  Dr.  Olin,  who  knew  him  well, 
was  exceedingly  anxious  to  get  him  to  Randolph  Macon  to 
take  a  professor's  place.  From  the  letter  which  follows,  it 
seems  to  have  been  almost  settled  that  Mr.  Pierce  should  go 
to  Virginia.  His  letter  we  do  not  have,  and  why  he  refused 
the  flattering  offer  of  a  professorship  he  has  not  told. 

From  Stephen  Olin  to  George  F.  Pierce. 

"  R.  M.  College,  December  7,  1835. 
"My  Dear  Brother  :    I  received  your  favor  from  Sa- 
vannah by  the  last  mail.    Brother  Andrew's  letter  had  indeed 
given  me  some  hope,  tho'  but  little.     A  rumor  put  afloat  by 
Alfred  Mann  tended  a  little  to  confirm  it,  and  still  more  a 


7^  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  [Chap.  in. 

letter  from  E.  Sinclair  assured  me  that  you  had  concluded 
at  last  to  come.  Still  our  necessities  were  so  pressing,  and 
any  other  arrangement  so  near  impossible,  that  I  was  full 
of  anxiety  upon  the  subject  till  I  got  your  letter.  So  doubtful 
was  I  of  your  course  that  I  had  applied  to  a  young  man 
whom  we  had  concluded  to  employ  as  tutor  if  you  should 
fail  us,  and  my  perplexity  was  increased  by  learning  from 
him  that  he  could  by  no  means  attempt  so  high  a  work  as  to 
fill  the  place  of  a  professor.  We  had  held  a  consultation  the 
very  day  I  received  your  letter  and  had  nearly  concluded  to 
attempt  another  arrangement,  which  our  judgment  rejected 
and  which  we  had  reason  to  know  the  Board  would  not  ap- 
prove. I  only  thought  it  better  than  to  stop  altogether,  to 
which  we  seemed  destined  if,  in  addition  to  Professor  Sims' 
absence,  a  storm  should  rise  at  our  Conference  which  would 
induce  Brother  Parks  to  leave  at  once,  which  I  deem,  from 
the  signs  of  the  times,  far  from  improbable.  You  may  suppose 
that  under  these  circumstances  I  was  very  glad  to  get  your 
letter.  My  trust  has  been  in  God.  I  have  felt  compelled  to 
be  importunate,  nor  am  able  to  sec  how  we  could  get  along 
without  you.  I  do  not  wonder  at  your  attachment  to  the 
itinerancy.  I  have  felt  it  all.  I  cannot  doubt  that  you  will 
find  a  field  for  usefulness  here,  different  but  even  greater  than 
the  one  yoti  leave.  This  you  will  not  see  till  you  have  been 
here  a  few  months  ;  then  I  think  you  will  sec  it.  I  con 
fidently  hope  that  your  religious  influence  will  do  much  good. 
A  hundred  young  men  of  equal  promise  were  hardly  ever 
assembled.  Half  are  religious.  Nearly  everyone  is  meth- 
odistical.  I  doubt  not  twenty  of  them  should  preach.  They 
wait,  however,  for  signs,  etc.  I  do  what  I  can,  but  my  health 
does  not  allow  me  to  mingle  in  their  class-  and  prayer-meet- 
ings, etc.  This  you  can  do,  and,  by  God's  blessing,  in  doing 
so  you  can  help  their  piety,  enlarge  their  views,  and  show 
them  their  duty.  I  cannot  doubt  that  you  will  be  the  instru- 
ment of  raising  up  several  preachers  from  year  to  year.  Thus 
may  you  send  out  many  substitutes  into  the  field  you  leave 
so   reluctantly.      You  think   me   visionary.       I  think   this  a 


1829-1833.]         ufe  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  79 

practical  view.  I  will  speak  freely.  I  want  your  help.  I  am 
sure  we  shall  be  of  one  heart,  zealous,  simple,  catholic,  meth- 
odistic.  I  go  for  the  Church  now  and  at  the  long  run.  We 
must  have  enlightened  ministers  as  to  mind.  Here  is  the  place 
to  make  them.  We  have  the  material.  With  God's  help 
upon  our  united  prayers  and  incessant  efforts  we  shall  suc- 
ceed. This  can't  be  expected  when  there  is  dissatisfaction  to 
the  Church,  want  of  zeal  and  right  views.  Messrs.  Garland 
and  Blackwell  are  true  men  and  excellent  Christians.  So  is 
Brother  Sims,  but  he  is  timid  and  as  a  preacher  not  efficient 
and  active.  G.  and  B.  you  know  as  laymen.  I  have  taken 
board  for  you  at  Brother  Carney's  ;  a  good  place,  genteel 
family.  Ten  dollars  per  month  is  the  established  price.  You 
will  have  time  to  think  about  housekeeping.  Professor 
Parks'  house  will  be  vacated  in  June,  a  very  pleasant  place, 
next  door  to  me.      I  hope  to  see  you  live  there. 

"  As  to  the  route,  take  the  Piedmont  line  at  Greenesboro, 
come  on  to  Milton  and  then  drive  up  to  this  place,  sixty  or 
seventy  miles.  This  is  the  best  way.  Avoid  a  sea  voyage 
in  the  winter.  If,  however,  you  come  to  Norfolk,  you  can  go 
to  Petersburg  by  steamboat  and  thence  ninety  miles  by  rail 
and  stage  to  this  place. 

"  I  regret  to  hear  of  the  Georgia  Conference  College.  It 
is  said  they  propose  to  take  the  endowment  pledged  to  this 
college.  This  I  think  impossible,  as  it  would  be  a  breach  of 
faith  to  us  and  to  the  donors.  I  do  trust  our  enlightened 
friends  will  save  the  Conference  from  such  a  stigma  ;  I  should 
feel  a  deeper  mortification  than  I  can  express.  Give  Mrs. 
O's  love  with  mine  to  Sister  Pierce.  Also  to  Brother  Water- 
man and  family,  to  Brother  Mann  and  family;  tell  him  Alfred 
is  doing  very  well.  I  heard  him  speak  in  love-feast  last  night, 
very  affectingly.  Remember  me  especially  to  Brother  and 
Sister  Andrew.  Also  to  your  father  and  family.  I  cannot 
look  over  this,  excuse  blunders. 

"Truly  yours, 

"  S.  Olin. 

"  Rev.  G.  F.  Pierce." 


80  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.         tc"AI"  IH- 

His  home,  as  we  have  seen,  was  in  the  old  parsonage. 
It  had  been  built  while  Andrew  was  on  the  station  ;  its  four 
not  large  rooms  were  large  enough  for  the  young  family,  and 
when  their  baby-girl  was  born  there  were  few  happier  house- 
holds. During  this  year,  according  to  his  old  record,  he 
preached  one  hundred  and  fifty-seven  times,  but  the  record 
only  gives  the  number  of  times,  and  not  places  nor  the 
texts. 

The  old  record  of  the  church  shows  the  care  with  which 
he  kept  his  books.  He  was  all  his  life  remarkable  for  the 
systematic  modes  in  which  he  worked,  and  there  was  noth- 
ing he  stressed  more  in  his  talk  with  the  preachers  than  the 
duty  of  constant  carefulness  and  system.      It  is  but  just  to 

that,  in  the  modern  idea  of  a  pastor,  he  was  not  at  that 
time,  nor  at  any  other  time,  a  good  one.  He  had  little  fancy 
for  mere  conventionalities.  To  go  and  see  people  merely  to 
say  he  had  gone,  and  to  have  no  special  object  in  view,  was 
irksome.  He  liked  to  sit  with  Jesse  Kent  in  his  store  and 
chat  with  the  unique  old  man.  He  liked  to  seek  Judge 
Longstreet  in  lii^  office  and  talk  with  him,  or  to  spend  an 
evening  at  John  II.  Mann's,  or  to  go  to  Sister  Danforth's  for 
a  prayer-meeting  or  a  religious  talk.  He  liked  to  mingle 
with  the  sinners  in  their  places  of  trade,  and  to  see  the  sick 
and  distressed  ;  but  merely  to  run  around  was  his  aversion. 
He  saw  no  good  in  it  ;  nothing  but  a  catering  to  an  absurd 
requirement,  b<>rn  often  of  a  sense  of  personal  importance 
and  kept  alive  by  selfishness.  He  said  that  piety  which  had 
to  be  nursed  by  a  pastor  in  order  to  keep  it  alive  was  a 
poor  affair,  without  stamina.  I  have  not,  and  I  may  as 
well  say  it  here,  thought  a  biography  the  place  to  air  one's 
own  opinions,  nor  to  defend  or  condemn  the  subject  of  the 
story.  I  think  it  my  duty  here  simply  to  tell  the  truth  of  the 
life  of  the  pastor  of  the  Augusta  Station  of  1835,  and  that 
truth  is  that  he  preached  three  times  on  Sunday,  held  a 
meeting  every  night  in  the  week,  held  two  class-meetings, 
visited  the  sick  and  distressed,  and  did  not  visit  the  well  and 
well  to  do,  merely  to  get  round.     He  did  not  like  to  walk  ; 


rsj9-i833.]  ixfe  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  81 

he  did  not  like  chit-chat.  He  had  his  hands  full  of  work, 
and  he  had  no  time  for  ceremony  and  mere  perfunctory- 
work. 

His  salary  was  small,  but  with  the  gentle  wife's  close 
management  it  was  enough  for  their  simple  wants,  and  he 
closed  the  year  1835,  when  he  was  twenty-four  years  old, 
after  a  successful  pastorate,  and  went  to  the  Conference  for  a 
new  appointment. 

Bishop  Pierce  believed  in  the  itinerancy.  He  had  little 
sympathy  with  any  man  who  was  so  tied  down  that  he  could 
not  move.  He  moved  every  year  for  the  first  four  years  of 
his  ministry,  and  he  believed  it  did  any  preacher  good  to 
change  his  congregation,  and  every  congregation  good  to 
change  its  preacher.  His  father  was  presiding  elder  on  the 
Augusta  District,  but  having  removed  his  family  to  Colum- 
bus, he  was  taken  from  the  district,  and  George  was  put  upon 
it.  It  included  Augusta,  Columbia,  Lincolnton,  Washing- 
ton, Warrenton,  Sparta,  Sandersville,  Louisville,  and  Waynes- 
boro. It  is  not  probable  that  out  of  a  salary  of  $700  much 
had  been  saved  for  furnishing  the  new  elder.  A  horse  must 
be  purchased,  and  a  home  provided.  Grandfather  Foster 
still  lived  in  Greene,  and  as  his  children  were  all  gone  he 
was  glad  to  have  his  grandson,  a  namesake,  again  under 
his  roof;  and  soon  the  young  elder  took  his  gentle  wife  to 
the  plantation  and  left  her  there  while  he  went  on  his  way. 
It  was  a  new  and  by  no  means  a  pleasant  experience  for  him 
to  leave  his  'family  for  such  long  trips  as  the  district  de- 
manded, but  the  work  must  be  done.  By  making  hard  drives, 
of  sometimes  sixty  miles  a  day,  he  was  able  to  get  home 
every  four  weeks,  but  it  was  only  for  a  day  or  two  at  a  time  ; 
then  he  must  be  off  again.  During  camp-meeting  season  he 
was  unable  to  reach  home  at  all  for  three  whole  months,  and 
all  this  time  the  fair  young  wife  was  left  with  the  grandparents 
in  Greene  ;  but  they  took  good  care  of  her,  and  during  his 
absence  on  the  district  a  little  girl  was  born  whom  they  called 
Julia. 

But  Greene  was  too  far  from  the  centre  of  the  district, 
6 


B9  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierre.  [Chap.  JIL 

and  he  wanted  a  home  of  his  own,  and  so  he  made  arrange- 
ments to  take  the  parsonage  at  Sparta.  Rev.  George  W. 
Carter  was  preacher  in  charge,  but  he  had  only  a  wife,  and 
so  the  presiding  elder  took  the  house  and  settled  his  wife  in 
Sparta  and  had  the  preacher  to  board.  The  house  was  on 
the  outskirts  of  the  then  small  county-site  of  Hancock,  the 
village  of  Sparta.  It  was  a  small  house  with  four  rooms  be- 
neath and  a  half-story  above.  There  was  no  fence  around, 
and  no  furniture  within.  There  was  rather  a  scant  purse  from 
which  to  buy,  but  the  thrifty  little  mistress  of  the  house  was 
full  of  devices.  The  good  box  in  which  the  books  were  ship- 
I  made  a  [-case,  and  the  one  table-cloth  she  found 

at  the  p  had  companions  provided  for  it,  and  under 

her  care  the  residence  of  the  dt  facto  bishop  of  a  large  diocese 
made  to  smile.  There  was  no  fence  around  the  premises, 
and  the  times  were  wild.  Drunken  men  rode  yelling  by,  and 
the  young  wife  with  her  babes  had  need  for  all  her  faith  and 
courage.  One  morning  carl}'  some  runaway  negroes,  while 
the  mistress  was  for  a  moment  absent,  stole  the  breakfast  from 

the  table.  When  the  husband's  work  was  done  he  hastened 
home  as  rapidly  as  his  fast  horse  could  carry  him.  Such  was 
the  life  of  the  first  preacher  of  the  State,  on  the  best  district 
in  it,  in  1837. 

The  presiding  elder  has  many  varied  and  important 
duties.  At  this  time,  when  the  chief  officers  of  the  Church, 
the  bishops,  were  so  few.  and  had  such  difficulty  in  reaching 
the  rem  ts  of  the    work,  the    presiding   elder   was,    in 

fact  as  well  as  law,  a  bishop  in  his  district,  lie  had  not  only 
to  see  that  it  was  well  manned,  but  to  see  after  the  finances, 
the  discipline  of  the  circuits,  and  the  extension  of  the  work, 
but  he  was,  in  addition  to  all  this,  to  be  an  evangelist. 
Camp-meetings  at  this  time  were  in  their  glory.  In  the 
Augusta  District  there  was  a  camp-meeting  in  every  one  of 
the  ten  appointments,  and  in  some  of  them  there  were  two. 
There  was  not  a  line  of  railway  in  the  district,  and  all  of  it  had 
to  be  travelled  on  wheels  or  on  horseback.  He  always  had 
a   good  horse,  and  he   saw  to  his  comfort,  but  while  he  fed 


1829-1833.]         ufe  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  83 

him  well  with  his  own  hand,  and  if  need  be  groomed  him,  he 
expected  good  work  from  him.  He  never  used  an  umbrella. 
The  sweltering  suns  of  June  fell  upon  him  unprotected  and 
the  rains  wet  him  to  the  skin.  He  had  only  forty  quarterly 
meetings  for  fifty-two  weeks  in  the  conference  year,  so  that 
he  could  so  arrange  his  work  as  to  spend  some  little  time  at 
home.  He  was  always  an  advocate  for  small  districts  and 
much  service  from  the  presiding  elder,  and  was  of  opinion 
that  the  waning  popularity  of  the  office  was  mainly  due  to  the 
over-size  of  the  districts  and  the  scant  services  to  each  charge. 
His  district  for  this  year  was  made  out  of  the  Savannah  and 
the  Athens,  and,  while  an  old  section  of  the  State,  was  a  new 
district.  It  included  the  territory  where,  nearly  fifty  years 
before  this  time,  Major  Humphries  and  Hull  had  laid  the  foun- 
dation of  the  Church.  There  were  now  two  thousand  five  hun- 
dred white  members  and  one  thousand  colored,  who  were 
scattered  over  ten  counties.  A  round  on  this  district  was 
made  this  year,  by  his  leaving  his  home  in  Sparta,  on  Friday 
afternoon,  and  having  his  quarterly  meeting  in  Warrenton, 
where  John  C.  Simmons,  then  a  young  man,  was  on  the  cir- 
cuit. From  Warrenton  to  Columbia,  and  then  up  to  Lin- 
colnton,  and  then  to  Washington,  and  then  home  to  Sparta 
for  a  week ;  then  to  Sandersville,  Louisville,  Augusta,  and 
Waynesboro  ;  then  home  again.  He  preached  nearly  every 
day,  and  preached  in  all  parts  of  his  district,  and  preached  as 
eloquently  oftentime  in  the  log-cabin  as  if  he  had  been  in  the 
cathedral.  The  camp-meeting  was  the  event  in  rural  Georgia 
in  those  days.  The  young  presiding  elder  was  expected  to 
preach  every  day  at  eleven  o'clock,  and  be  at  every  service. 
Colonel  R.  M.  Johnson,  who  knew  the  bishop  most  intimately, 
and  who  was  with  him  at  many  a  camp-meeting,  gives  a 
somewhat  graphic  picture  of  Mr.  Pierce,  as  he  was  then  called, 
at  a  camp-meeting  in  Old  Hancock.  Speaking  of  the  meet- 
ing, he  says : 

"  Oh  what  an  array  of  pigs,  and  lambs,  and  chickens,  and 
turkeys,  and  geese,  and  ducks,  and  melons  and  fruits,  and 
pies,  and  all  such  !     These  are  not  to  the  purpose,  I  admit. 


^4  Life  and  Times,  of  George  F.  Pierce.         [Chap.  hi. 

But  at  this  late  day,  and  this  remote  place,  I  cannot  think, 
without  thanks,  of  those  dinners  at  Tom  Hunt's  and  Bill 
Hunt's,  and  John  Sykes',  and  Jack  Smith's  But  let  these 
all  go  now.  Except  in  the  eating  line,  it  was  rather  a  dull 
time  for  two  or  three  days,  and  the  preachers  would  scold 
the  young  men  when,  after  escorting  the  girls  to  the  stand, 
they  would  go  back  to  the  tents  and  smoke  their  cigars. 

"  In  these  days  George  Pierce  would  have  little  to  say. 
But  as  the  time  approached  when  it  was  expected  to  break 
up,  he  would  seem  to  be  oppressed  with  grief  that  so  little 
had  been  done  in  bringing  sinners  to  repentance.  And  then 
he  would  begin.  And  such  sermons  !  Often,  very  often, 
have  I  heard  him  on  such  occasions,  when  he  would  be  de- 
notmcing  evil  or  persuading  to  good,  when  the  flights  which 
his  fancy  would  take  seemed  impossible  to  be  sustained  by 
him.  Vet,  in  twenty  /ears,  I  never  knew  him  to  hesitate  or 
to  fail  in  the  most  elaborate  illustration,  although  he  spoke 
more  entirely  impromptu  perhaps  than  any  other  living  orator. 
It  was  impossible  to  resist  the  appeals  which  he  was  wont  to 
make  on  these  occasions.  I  remember  well  two,  especially, 
among  many  of  these.  <  >nc  was  when  he  spoke  of  the  last 
resolve  of  the  exiled  lepers  who  went  to  the  enemy's  camp, 
and  the  other  was  on  the  text  of  the  harvest  being  past  and 
the  summer  being  ended.  I  think  that  the  power  of  words 
was  more  signally  shown  than  on  both  of  these  ocea- 

ns. The  stand  was  full,  as  it  always  was  when  it  was 
known  that  he  was  to  speak.  It  did  seem  that  the  full  fire  of 
eloquence  burned  within  him.  His  round,  sonorous  voice, 
as  from  time  to  time  he  rose  on  tiptoe  and  poured  it  in  its 
full  power,  reverberated  among  the  woods  far  beyond  the 
limits  of  the  camp,  and  one  could  almost  imagine  that  he 
could  see  the  terrific  things  that  are  to  befall  the  lost  in  the 
eternal  world.  And  lunv  they  did  rush  then  to  the  altar, 
yonng  men  and  maidens,  old  men  and  women  !  They  had 
terror  in  their  faces,  too.  and  in  their  hearts.'' 

At  the  Conference  in  Columbus  he  made  his  debut  as  a 
conference  debater.       He  was    then    twenty-five  years  old. 


1829-1833.]         ufe  an(}  Jimes  0f  George  F.  Pierce.  85 

From  this  time  he  held  his  own  in  every  bout  on  the  confer- 
ence floor.  Never  garrulous,  never  dogmatic,  he  was  always 
fearless  and  strong,  and  generally,  if  not  always,  carried  his 
points.  He  was  now,  by  all  odds,  the  most  popular  preacher 
in  the  State  of  any  denomination.  There  was  but  one  who  was 
mentioned  in  connection  with  him,  and  that  was  his  father. 
The  father  was  now  in  the  zenith  of  his  greatness.  He  was 
over  fifty  years  old,  and  had  been  in  the  ministry  for  over 
thirty  years.  But  no  two  men  ever  have  differed  more  widely 
in  their  styles  of  preaching.  The  son  was  famous  for  his 
beautiful  flights  of  fancy.  The  father  never  attempted  them  at 
all.  Each  was  profoundly  emotional  and  moved  the  emotions 
of  those  who  heard,  but  they  did  not  use  the  same  methods. 
Mr.  Pierce  evinced,  however,  both  in  the  pulpit  and  in  the 
councils  of  the  Church,  that  the  brilliance  of  his  fancy  and  the 
luxuriance  of  his  language  were,  not  as  it  too  often  is,  con- 
nected with  impractical,  visionary  ideas.  He  was  a  man  of 
eminent  common-sense.  An  Annual  Conference  is  a  very 
democratic  body,  and  nothing  passes  muster  in  it  for  any  long 
time  but  strong  sense  ;  and  the  hold  he  took  on  the  Georgia 
Conference,  which  he  held  for  nearly  fifty  years,  resulted 
from  the  strong  confidence  of  that  body  in  the  soundness  of 
his  judgment.  At  this  Conference  in  Columbus,  which  met 
in  December,  1836,  four  young  men  were  admitted,  who  be- 
came connected  with  him  by  ties  which  only  death  dissevered. 
They  were  Alfred  T.  Mann,  Walter  R.  Branham,  Josiah  Lewis, 
and  John  P.  Duncan.  Alfred  T.  Mann,  now  Dr.  Mann,  still 
lives.  The  son  of  John  H.  Mann,  whom  we  have  seen  as 
among  the  early  members  of  St.  John's  Church  and  the  friend 
first  of  Dr.  Pierce  and  then  of  the  son,  Alfred  was  a  brilliant 
young  graduate  of  Randolph  Macon,  who  afterward  married 
Julia,  the  sister  of  Bishop  Pierce.  Walter  R.  Branham  grad- 
uated at  the  State  University ;  his  father  was  a  distinguished 
physician  of  Eatonton.  These  young  men  left  homes  of  af- 
fluence for  what  was  then  considered  the  great  hardships  of 
an  itinerant  ministry.  They  were  young  men  of  excellent  parts 
and  good  cultivation,  and  were  naturally  drawn  to  the  brilliant 


86  Life  iimf  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  [Ohap.  tii. 

voung  man  who  had  preceded  them  in  this  work  and  who 
for  several  years  had  borne   his  share  of  conference  burdens 
so  well.       It  is  a  great   mistake   to  suppose  that   Methodism 
levied  no  tribute  on  the  richer  and  better-educated  classes  in 
the  beginning  of  her  career.     Capers,  Few,  Pope,  and  How- 
ard were  from  what  was  known  as  the  highest  walk  of  South- 
ern life,  and  the  proportion  of  such  men  kept  pace  with  the 
number  of  educated  people  who  were  in  the  State.    Advanced 
^ical  culture  was  now  more  common,   and  the    Georgia 
Conference  was  drawing  its  laborers   from  this  field,  and  the 
number  of  such  men  increased  as  the  years  went  on.      Josiah 
Lewis,   who  joined  the  conference  this    year,  was  a  man  of 
the  people  ;  a   strong-minded,  clear-headed,  independent,  and 
rless  man, always  forcible  in  his  utterances — never  a  time- 
.  er  ;  never  especially  popular  with  the  masses,  but,  to  those 
who  knew  his  sterling  worth  as  Bishop  Pierce  did,  valued  be- 
I  most  men. 

John  P.  Duncan  was  not  by  any  means  the  greatest  of  the 
four,  but  he  was  the  most  remarkable.  What  drew  George 
F.  Pierce  to  [ohn  P.  Duncan  often  puzzled  those  who  knew 
both  of  the  men.  Never  were  two  men  more  unlike.  Duncan 
was  a  Pennsylvanian  by  birth,  came  to  North  Carolina  in 
his  manhood,    was  converted,  and  began   to   preach, 

lie  was  not  learned,  not  strong,  but  tender-loving  and  child- 
like. He  was  elegant  in  taste,  fond  of  music,  a  matchless 
singer,  a  Beau  Brummell  in  dress  and  a  Chesterfield  in  man- 
ner, an  accomplished  elocutionist,  talking  with  a  wonderful 
tenderness,  with  language  of  exquisite  beauty.  It  was  not  a 
nder  that  he  won  some,  but  that  he  fastened  so  close  to  the 
heart  of  young  Pierce  was  strange  ;  but,  strange  as  it  was,  it 
was  true.  John,  as  he  called  Duncan,  he  laughed  at  often,  and 
sometimes  chided,  but  he  always  loved  him  and  valued  him  ; 
and  Duncan's  warm  heart  had  its  warmest  place  for  him  who 
was  called  by  him  first  George,  then  Doctor,  then  Bishop. 
When  it  is  known  how  much  Bishop  Pierce  abhorred  dandy- 
ism of  language  or  of  manner  or  of  dress,  how  much  he 
valued    ruggedness,  how  utterly  careless  he  was  of  all  that 


REV.  JOSIAH    LEWIS. 


1339-1833.]         ijfe  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce. 


87 


was  fastidious,  his  fondness  for  the  man  whose  very  nature 
seemed  permeated  by  a  love  for  the  finery  of  language  and 
manner  is  strange  enough.  When  he  was  returned  to  the 
district,  he  took  Duncan  with  him  to  the  Warrenton  Cir- 
cuit for  his  first  year,  and  the  next  year  had  him  in  his  home 
in  Sparta.  One  man  is  now  living  who  was  in  active  work 
on  his  district  during  this  period,  Rev.  Walter  R.  Branham  ; 
he  says  of  him  as  a  presiding  elder  : 

"  Bishop  Pierce  was  my  presiding  elder  at  Augusta  in 
1838.  I  was  returned  to  that  place  to  assist  Brother  Isaac  Bor- 
ing. I  can  recall  but  little  or  nothing  very  striking,  beyond 
his  wonted  untiring  energy  and  his  commanding  pulpit  elo- 
quence. Bishop  Andrew  was  with  us  occasionally  ;  you 
know  that  they  were  as  father  and  son  in  their  mutual  attach- 
ment. They  were  alike  in  one  respect,  which,  I  think,  was 
rather  unfortunate  for  me.  Neither  of  them  seemed  to  make 
much  special  preparation  for  the  pulpit.  No  doubt  both  of 
them  thought,  read,  and  prayed  much.  But  such  was  the 
rapid  action  of  their  minds,  clearness  and  readiness  of  percep- 
tion and  command  of  language,  that  they  required  less  time 
to  get  their  subjects  in  hand.  I  learned  that  Bishop  Andrew 
wanted  only  the  time  between  breakfast  and  eleven  o'clock 
to  prepare  for  his  morning  sermon,  and  that  Bishop  Pierce 
did  not  care  for  longer  time.  Bishop  Andrew  was  notably  a 
great  reader,  and  Bishop  Pierce  no  doubt  gathered  informa- 
tion readily  from  every  available  source." 

Mr.  Pierce  kept  a  memorandum  of  the  places  at  which  he 
preached  while  on  the  district,  and  the  texts  he  preached 
from,  and  I  find  the  following-  record  of  a  month's  work  in 
May,  1836: 


Augusta  .... 
it 

Greenesboro 

(i 

Milledgeville 


May 


Milledgeville 

Sparta 

Sandersville 
Providence. 
Mount  Zion 

Sandersville 
Sparta 


May  1 5  I  Sparta May  26 


18 

!9 
20 

21 
22 

23 

26 


27 
27 
27 
28 
29 
29 
29 


88  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.         [Chap.  hi. 

Twenty- four  sermons  in  twenty-eight  days,  from  Augusta 
to  Milledgeville,  and  this  is  but  a  specimen  page  of  the  old 
journal,  nor  were  these  the  same  discourses  repeated.  I  find 
among  these  memoranda  the  following  list  of  texts  used  in 
succession  : 


Job  8  :  23,  24. 

rws  12  :  22.  29,  24. 
Philippians  2  :  2.  12.  13. 
2  Corinthians  6  :   1.2. 

Hebrews    10   :    35.  36,  37- 

Philippians  2  :   14,  1 5,  16. 


1  Kings  19. 
Isaiah  57  :   1. 

2  Samuel  14  :  14. 

rinthians  7  :  1. 
Proverbs  1  :  20-28. 


His  supply  of  texts  was  simply  inexhaustible.  To  those 
who  knew  him  in  later  years,  this  statement  will  be  somewhat 
surprising  ;  for  he  often  preached  on  the  same  text,  and  used 
the  same  arguments  and  illustrations  in  his  later  ministry, 
but  in  his  ear!)'  days  he  seems  to  have  Scrupulously  avoided 
all  repeating.  He  loved  home,  and  the  few  weeks  of  rest  be- 
fore the  work  commenced  were  precious  to  him  ;  but  after  his 
work  began,  he  was  almost  an  exile  from  his  family.  A  glance 
at  the  record  ofsermons  preached  will  show  how  much  he  was 
from  his  home.      March  19th,  he  was  in  Louisville,  where  he 

iched  live  times  ;  then  in  Burke  County,  then  in  Augusta, 
YV.irrenton,  Appling,  Lincoln,  Washington.  By  April  24th 
he  had  been  gone  from  home  over  thirty  days,  and  preached 
twenty-five  times.  In  six  days  he  was  in  Augusta  again,  a 
hundred  miles  from  home.  His  record  shows  that  he 
preached  on  the  Augusta  District,  in  1836,  one  hundred  and 
hty  times  ;  in  1  S37,  one  hundred  ami  eighty-two  ;  in  1838, 
one  hundred  and  sixty-one.  He  told  me  once  that  he  liked 
the  presiding  elder's  office  better  than  any  he  had  ever  filled. 
But  I  heard  him  in  a  district  conference  speaking  of  the  in- 
tense disgust  with  which  he  encountered  the  penuriousness 
and  narrowness  of  the  official  boards  of  those  days.  "  I 
used,"  he  said,  "  to  bite  my  lips,  and  get  up  and  walk  the 
floor,  while  a  few  stewards  were  counting  up  the  pittance 
which  had  been  collected,  and  striving  to  see  how  it  could  be 
divided  between  pastor  and  presiding  elder."  He  was  a  most 
-tirring   and   moving    evangelic,  and  revivals  went  with  him 


1829-1833.]         nfe  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  89 

wherever  he  went.  His  quarterly  meetings  were  seasons  of 
great  power.  He  preached,  worked  in  the  altar,  went  out 
into  the  congregation,  talked  to  sinners,  did  everything  one 
deeply  in  earnest  could  do.  A  talented  young  physician  in 
Sandersville  was  sitting  in  the  congregation,  moved  by  the 
sermon  and  the  appeal,  but  taking  no  step  forward.  The 
presiding  elder,  who  knew  him  well,  walked  out  to  where  he 
was,  and,  laying  his  hand  on  his  shoulder,  said  :  "  Doctor, 
you  ought  to  be  a  Christian."  "  I  know  it,"  said  the  doctor. 
"  Wont  you  go  with  me  to  the  altar  ?  "  "I  will,"  he  said. 
He  went,  joined  the  church,  was  converted,  became  a  useful 
local  preacher,  and  was  at  Bishop  Pierce's  bedside  when  he 
died. 

He  often  used  very  severe  invective  when  denouncing 
meanness  and  sin,  and  was  especially  severe  on  the  sins  of  the 
people  to  whom  he  preached.  The  country  was  a  rich  one, 
and  there  were  in  it  thousands  of  slaves.  Cotton  was  high, 
and  avarice  and  covetousness  and  selfish  luxury  called  for  con- 
stant rebuke.  The  churches  were  old  and  dilapidated.  The 
parsonages,  when  there  were  any,  were  shamefully  mean,  and 
the  preachers,  though  in  rich  counties,  were  on  hard  circuits, 
and  on  salaries  so  small  that  real  privation  was  constantly 
present.  There  were  exceptions,  but  they  were  individual  ; 
the  church  as  a  mass  had  the  same  narrow  views  which  had 
come  down  to  it  from  the  fathers.  It  was  ready  to  pour  out 
of  its  means  lavishly  at  a  camp-meeting  or  at  a  quarterly 
meeting  ;  to  entertain  freely  all  who  came  ;  it  would  be  hos- 
pitable at  any  price,  but  it  would  not  pay  the  preacher  a 
decent  salary.  There  was  but  one  collection  regularly  taken 
and  reported,  and  that  was  for  deficient  and  superannuated 
preachers  and  their  widows.  The  wealth  of  the  Church  in  his 
district  was  immense,  and  he  was  justly  indignant  at  this 
state  of  things.  How  he  scorched  and  blistered  those  who 
were  guilty  !  He  who  had  turned  aside  from  every  path 
which  promised  wealth  and  ease,  who  was  for  so  large  a  part 
of  his  time  away  from  his  young  wife  and  sweet  babe,  and 
who  felt  that  the  sacrifice  was   nothing,  had  little  patience 


90  Life  an  J  Times  of  George  F.  Pit-ire.  [Chap,  m 

with  the  owner  of  a  score  of  slaves,  whose  family  dressed  in 
silks  and  broadcloth,  whose  table  was  spread  with  abun- 
dance, and  whose  very  slaves  lived  in  comfort,  and  yet  who 
allowed  his  preacher  to  live  in  a  miserable  shanty,  and  re- 
joiced in  a  religion  which  cost  so  little  and  gave  so  much. 

"  You  buy  more  land,  to  make  more  cotton,  to  buy  more 
negroes,  to  make  more  cotton,  to  buy  more  land,  to  make 
more  cotton,  and  so  on,  forever." 

"  Y"U  say  you  do  not  let  your  left  hand  know  what  your 
right  band  gives  —  and  no  wonder  ;  for  the  right  gives  so  little 
that  the  left  would  blush  to  its  elbow  to  know  of  its  mean- 
ness." 

There  were  many  exceptions.  There  were  great-hearted 
men  whose  broad  views  cheered  him  ;  and  even  when  he 
found  these  narrow  views  of  things,  he  found  some  comfort 
in  the  thought  that  they  were  errors  and  not  sins,  that  these 
ideas  of  church  economy  had  come  down  to  the  children 
from  the  fathers,  and  had  been  born  in  the  times  of  poverty 
and  of  oppression. 

He  did  thr<  useful  and  happy  work  on  his  dis- 

trict. He  had  shown  in  his  field-work  the  stuff  he  was  made 
of.     The  Church  sing  through  an  important  era,  and 

Sundry  changes  were  being  made  in  her  adjustments  to  the 
times.  The  days  of  his  youth  had  been  days  of  the  letter. 
The  preachers  were  rigid  in  their  discipline  and  in  their  inter- 
pretation of  the  General  Rules.  Rings,  flounces,  nifties,  fash- 
i  >n able  apparel  were  denounced  in  sermon  after  sermon  ; 
conformity  to  the  world  was  wearing  clothing  such  as  the 
world  wore.  Mr.  Pierce  despised  a  religion  of  externals. 
I  [  ■  -aw  as  much  merit  in  the  habit  of  a  Carmelite  monk  or  a 
Jesuit  priest  as  in  the  straight-breasted  coat  or  broad-brimmed 
hat  «>f  a  M  th  ::>t  preacher.  He  did  not  like  extravagance, 
nor  gorgeous,  vulgar  display  ;  but  he  laid  little  stress  on  mere 
apparel.  He  would  not  wear  then,  and  never  did  afterward, 
the  straight-breasted  coat,  or  the  white  neck-handkerchief. 
He  despised  conventionalisms  everywhere  ;  there  were  no  pul- 
pit tones,  nor  pulpit  manners,  with  him.     He  was  simply  a 


1829-183;].]         jjfe  anj  jimes  of  George  F.  Pierce.  91 

man  in  every-day  life,  and  the  Christian  orator  in  the  pulpit. 
It  was  while  he  was  on  this  district  that  the  educational 
movement  among  the  Methodists  in  Georgia  began  to  take 
such  advanced  position.-  The  Manual  Labor  School  was  es- 
tablished in  Covington,  and  out  of  it  came  Emory  College, 
which  was  founded  in  1837,  two  miles  from  the  Manual  Labor 
School.  While  Mr.  Pierce  was  not  prominent  in  the  begin- 
ning of  these  enterprises,  his  father,  the  doctor,  was  a  leader 
in  the  movement,  and  the  son  regarded  all  that  was  done 
with  intense  interest.  His  old  book  tells  of  a  visit  to  Coving- 
ton, and  of  two  sermons  preached  there,  which  visit  was 
doubtless  made  on  matter  connected  with  the  new  schools. 
But  there  was  a  new  movement  on  foot,  which  was  to  call  him 
for  a  little  while  from  the  pastoral  work  and  put  him  in  the 
school-room.  This  was  the  founding  of  the  Georgia  Female 
College  in  Macon,  Ga.  One  of  Mr.  Pierce's  fellow-students 
in  Athens — a  bright  young  lawyer  of  Washington,  Georgia 
Chandler  by  name — had  made  at  Athens  a  speech  on  the 
education  of  women.  He  had  taken  the  position  that 
women  had  equal  capacities  with  men,  and  were  entitled  to 
equal  advantages  and  equal  honors.  Colleges  ought  to  be 
established  for  them,  he  said,  and  a  curriculum  provided  for 
them  which  should  be  as  extensive  as  that  provided  for  men. 
The  people  of  the  young  city  of  Macon  were  agitating  the 
question  of  a  high  school  for  young  ladies.  Elijah  Sinclair 
proposed  they  should  go  further,  and  make  it  a  college.  The 
suggestion  was  accepted,  and  the  Georgia  Female  College 
was  decided  upon.  It  was  not  to  be  denominational,  but  to 
be  religious.  It  was  projected  on  a  grand  scale  for  those 
times.  The  scheme  was  so  new  and  so  taking,  the  hopes  of 
the  founders  were  so  high,  that  the  most  extensive  arrange- 
ments were  made  for  a  faculty.  It  had  been  put,  at  the  first, 
under  the  supervision  of  the  Georgia  Conference.  All  eyes 
were  turned  toward  George  Pierce  for  president,  and  he  was 
selected,  and  his  father  for  agent.  This  selection  of  the 
board  was  ratified  by  the  church  authorities  in  Eatonton 
when  the  conference  met  in  December,  1838. 


92  Life  Lin  J  Tinws  of  George  F.  Pierce.        [CnAr.  in. 

At  this  conference  he  brought  up  for  admission  the  names 
of  Augustus  B.  Longstrect  and  John  W.  Knight.  They  were 
both  from  Augusta,  and  both  his  intimate  friends.  Judge 
Longstrect,  whom  we  last  saw  as  a  member  of  the  Greencs- 
boro  Moral  and  Polemic  Society  in  1817,  was  at  that  time  a 
gifted,  well-to-do  young  lawyer,  moral,  but  sceptical.  He 
became  a  judge,  was  a  candidate  for  Congress,  when  he  was 
converted  and  became  a  Methodist  preacher.  1  Ie  removed  to 
the  city  of .  .  where  he  practised  law,  edited  a  news- 

paper, and  wrote  th<  1  le  became  convinced 

that  it  was  his  duty  to  give  up  the  practice  of  law  and  give 
himself  entirely  to  the  work  of  the  ministry,  and  SO  lie  was 
admitted  into  the  Georgia  Annual  Conference  in  [838.     Judge 

LongStreet  was  afterward  President  of  Emory  College,  of  the 
Centen  try  Institute  in  Louisiana,  and  of  the  University  of  Mis- 
ippi  and  of  the  South  Carolina  College.      He  was  a  man  of 
ense,  of  great  wit,  and  of  genuine,  unaffected  piety. 
John  \V.   Knight,  the  bishop  himself  thus  describ 
"  I  saw  John  W.  Knight  for  the  first  time  in  1S35.      I  was 
stationed   that  year   in  Augusta,  and  found  him  then  a  mem- 
ber of  the  church.      lie  had  been  recently  converted.      Previ- 
ously he  had  been  wild,  dissipated,  desperately  wicked.      He 
by   nature  ;   his  passions    strong.     All    the    ele- 
ments of  character  in  him  were  under  high  pressure.     Left  to 
his  own   nature,  he  would  have  been  a  very  bail  and  danger- 
ous man.      Renewed   by  grace,   he  was   a  very  devout    and 
consecrated   man,  renouncing  all  sin,  resisting  all  evil,  aspir- 

after  all  that  was  good,  holy,  and  useful.  My  first  ob 
vations  of  him  impressed  me  very  unfavorably.  He  was 
gawky,  awkward,  slouch v  ;  the  only  tailor  I  ever  knew  who 
was  not  inclined  to  be  dressy — advertising  his  business  by 
his  own  well-fitting  apparel.  John  was  a  sloven;  he  never  re- 
formed. Indeed,  this  defect  barred  his  rising  in  the  confer- 
ence, by  his  indifference  to  the  proprieties  of  person,  man- 
ner, and  dress.  Before  I  had  ever  spoken  to  him,  I  noticed 
him  at  every  service.  He  would  come  into  the  pew,  fall 
down  on  his  knees  in  a  sort  of  limber,  irreverent  way,  and 


1S29-1833.]         Life  anti  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  93 

then  he  would  whisper,  or  puff  and  blow,  and  rub  his  hands 
for  a  long  time.  Rising  at  last,  he  seemed  ready  for  the 
work  of  the  occasion.  He  was  a  good  listener.  I  set  him 
down  in  my  mind  as  a  simple-hearted,  half-witted  young 
convert,  full  of  zeal  but  lacking  in  knowledge.  After  a 
month  or  two,  he  surprised  and  embarrassed  me  by  telling  me 
he  wanted  license  to  preach.  I  advised  him  to  wait  and  pray 
for  divine  direction,  promising  him  another  interview  upon 
the  subject.  During  the  spring  I  got  up  a  meeting  at  the  old 
Richmond  Camp  Ground.  But  few  preachers  were  present. 
Knight  was  there.  I  put  him  up  one  day  to  conclude  the 
service  with  an  exhortation.  He  had  never  spoken  in  public 
before.  It  was  his  debut,  and  in  my  mind  his  license  hung 
upon  the  outcome.  He  astonished  me,  and  all  his  hearers. 
It  was  the  unstudied  outburst  of  a  full  mind  and  a  glowing 
heart.  His  sentences  were  well  constructed,  his  language 
fine  and  well  chosen,  not  a  blemish  in  his  grammar.  His 
thoughts  showed  he  was  well  read.  He  enforced  a  heavy  as- 
sault on  infidelity  by  the  relation  of  his  own  experience.  The 
effect  was  wonderful.  No  more  trouble  about  license  now  ;  I 
hurried  him  up  as  fast  as  the  law  allowed. 

"  John  Knight  was  a  real  genius,  his  native  mind  of  a  high 
order,  if  not  of  the  highest.  If  the  surroundings  of  his  boy- 
hood had  been  favorable  to  right  development,  and  his  train- 
ing and  education  equal  to  his  capacity,  he  would  have  stood 
in  the  front  rank  of  preachers  ;  but  his  early  associations  were 
bad,  his  schooling  meagre,  and  his  taste  for  reading  without 
instructor  or  guide.  He  read  much,  but  not  judiciously. 
Shakespeare,  Scott,  Byron,  and  Burns  were  his  favorites  ;  he 
knew  them  by  heart.  The  life  of  Napoleon  and  his  marshals 
he  could  recite  from  memory.  After  he  entered  upon  the 
ministry  his  reading  was  all  theological  ;  his  mind  was  active, 
inquisitive,  and  independent.  He  read  much,  but  he  called 
no  man  master  ;  he  thought  for  himself,  and  he  spoke  what 
he  thought.  His  preaching  was  very  unequal.  He  ranged 
from  a  cipher  to  a  hundred — poor,  middling,  fine,  extra- 
good.     I  have  heard. him  in  all  his  moods,  and  in  his  worst 


04  Life  and  Times,  of  George  F.  Pierce.         [Char  hi 

moods  and  in  his  poorest  efforts  there  were  scintillations  of 
his  originality;  like  nobody,  nobody  like  him.  I  have  heard 
three  or  four  sermons  from  him  that  would  have  done  credit 
to  any  man  in  the  Church  ;  for  range  of  thought,  power  of  ex- 
pression, pathos,  I  never  heard  them  excelled.  Sometimes 
bold,  daring,  even  rude  in  style,  he  would  give  out  thoughts  and 
images  the  most  exquisite,  beautiful  exceedingly.  I  lis  prayers 
were  wonderful  in  their  variety,  compass,  and  power — simple, 
child-like,  face-to-face  talks  with  God.  Me  prayed  more  than 
any  man  I  ever  knew.  1  have  known  him  often  to  pray  all 
night.  When  he  came  out  of  one  of  these  struggles  into  the  pul- 
pit, he  burned  like  fire,  or  fell  as  the  rain  upon  the  tender  grass. 

"  Always  moody,  swinging  like  a  pendulum  between 
gloom  and  sunshine,  never  long  in  any  one  mental  condition, 
hi-  last  days  were  very  sad.  II is  nervous  organization 
wrecked,  broken  down  by  age  and  disease  and  sorrow,  his 
mind  was  unhinged,  and  a  pall  of  darkness  settled  upon  his 
soul.  He  was  haunted  with  the  idea  that  his  friends  had  for- 
saken him,  that  God  had  cast  him  ^\T,  and  that  he  was  a 
ruined  sinner,  hopelessly  lost.  This  shadow,  deep  and  dark, 
rested  upon  him  to  the  last.  Who  can  conceive  of  his  sur- 
■  and  rapture  when  he  passed  out  of  a  Lunatic  asylum  into 
the  celestial  city  ?  I  have  often,  since  his  death,  imagined  I 
could  sec  him  re-enacting,  among  the  angels  and  the  redeem- 
ed, the  scenes  in  which  I  have  often  seen  him  when  he  was  in 
his  raptures  here  below.  Putting  everything  together,  I  doubt 
if  there  is  a  happier  man  in  heaven  than  John  W.  Knight. *' 

John  Knight  to  the  last  held  his  place  in  the  bishop's 
warmest  heart  ;  a  genius,  an  unhappy  one,  by  his  natural 
make-up,  but  one  of  the  most  gifted,  one  of  the  purest,  the 
most  eloquent  children  of  nature,  who  have  held  place  in  the 
Georgia  Conference.  John  Knight,  child  like,  guileless,  con- 
fiding, leaned  on  the  bishop's  strong  arm  till  he  went  to 
heaven,  loving  him  as  he  loved  no  other  man. 

The  Conference  at  Eatonton  closed,  and  Mr.  Pierce  re- 
ceived his  appointment.  He  went  to  his  new  work  as  Presi- 
dent of  the  Georgia  Female  College. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE  COLLEGE  PRESIDENT,  1839-1840,  AGED  28-29. 

The  Georgia  Female  College,  Macon — Mr.  Pierce's  Personal  Appear- 
ance— Preparation  for  the  Pulpit — Mental  Habits — Great  Revival — 
Member  of  the  General  Conference — Views  of  Church  Division — ■ 
Home  Life  — Ladies'  Magazine — Address,  first  Baccalaureate — Rev. 
Mr.  Branham's  Recollections. 

Although  he  had  accepted  the  presidency  of  the  College, 
he  had  no  idea  of  giving  up  the  pulpit.  With  the  most  ar- 
dent sympathy  for  the  work  of  the  Georgia  Female  Col- 
lege, he  had  not  the  slightest  desire  to  give  up  the  work  in 
which  he  was  engaged.  He  was  a  field-officer,  and  was  not 
willing  to  leave  the  field  of  action  for  the  War  Department. 
He  was  only  induced  to  take  the  place  he  had  been  chosen 
for,  by  the  assurance  that  it  should  not  interfere  with  his 
pulpit  work.  He  loved  to  preach,  and  he  made  it  a  condi- 
tion, that  if  he  was  selected  as  president  of  the  college,  he 
must  not  be  hampered  here.  He  had  refused  the  proffer  of 
a  professorship  in  Randolph  Macon,  in  Virginia,  and  reluc- 
tantly took  the  place  offered  him  in  Macon,  Ga.  Elijah  Sin- 
clair was  nominally  in  charge  of  the  church  of  Macon,  but 
Mr.  Pierce  was  to  have  the  pulpit.  Macon  was  now  about 
twelve  years  old.  Located  at  the  head  of  navigation  of  the 
Ocmulgee  River,  the  cotton-lands  of  much  of  Western  Geor- 
gia found  their  market  here.  A  line  of  steamboats  conveyed 
the  cotton  brought  to  Macon  to  the  mouth  of  the  Altamaha 
and  to  Savannah.  The  little  city  was  growing  rapidly.  The 
Methodist  church  had  been  built  for  almost  as  many  years  as 
the  city.  It  was  located  in  a  beautiful  lot  on  Mulberry  Street, 
where  the  Mulberry  Street  Church  still  stands.     It  was  an 


OG  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.         [Chap.jv. 

unsightly  wooden  building,  about  70  feet  long  and  50  feet  wide, 
with  galleries  all  around  it.  The  membership  at  this  time  was 
three  hundred  whites,  and  as  many  colored.  There  had  been 
several  very  sweeping  revivals  in  the  church,  and  Methodism 
was  relatively  strong  in  membership  ;  and  although  the  finan- 
cial crash  of  1837  had  carried  with  it  some  of  the  leading 
members  of  the  church,  the  church  was  comparatively  well 
to  do  financially.  Mr.  Tierce  was  now  twenty-eight  years 
old,  and  had  been  eight  years  a  preacher.  He  was  remark- 
ably and  wonderfully  handsome;  his  hair  was  black,  his  eyes 
black  and  sparkling,  his  complexion  rosy,  and  fresh  as  a 
girl's,  and  his  form  almost  faultless,  lie  weighed  about  one 
hundred  and  forty  pounds,  and  was  as  active  as  a  boy. 

lie  had  had  constant  practice  as  a  preacher,  for  in  the  eight 
years  of  his  ministry  he  had  preached  near  fifteen  hundred 
times.  He  spoke  extemporaneously,  and,  as  far  as  others 
knew,  without  stud}-  or  preparation.  In  this  they  were 
greatly  mistaken,  f<>r,  while  he  prepared  his  sermons  with 
wonderful  rapidity,  he  prepared  them  with  great  care.  Col- 
onel Johnson  said  of  him  ; 

"It  was  wonderful  to  see  what  he  could  do  without,  or 
apparently  without,  stud)-.  For  he  never  prepared  his  ser- 
mons, I'  is  known  that  he  often  has  started  from  his  home 
on  a  Sunday  morning  without  knowing  from  what  text  he 
to  preach.  Vet  nobody  would  suspect  that,  when  the 
great  thoughts  would  pour  themselves  forth  in  a  language  not 
one  man  in  a  thousand  could  write." 

But  his  old  friend  was  mistaken  if  he  supposed  that  the 
material  of  his  discourse  was  so  hastily  gathered.  He  was  al- 
ways wonderfully  ready,  but  it  was  because  he  was  always 
w<  >nderfully  supplied.  I  le  was  never  a  bookish  man,  although 
he  had  read  extensively,  but  he  was  one  of  those  who  knew 
where  books  came  from,  and  went  to  their  sources.  Pedantry 
was  his  abhorrence.  He  had  laid  the  foundations  well.  He 
was  a  fine  Latinist  and  a  good  Grecian  ;  had  carefully  studied 
the  best  books  on  rhetoric  or  criticism,  and  had  read  all  the 
English  classics  ;  but,  had  he  never  seen  a  rhetoric,  he  would 


1839-1842.]  Ufe  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  97 

have  made  it.  He  was  perhaps  never  more  powerful  in  the 
pulpit  than  at  this  time.  In  June  there  was  a  gracious  re- 
vival in  Macon.  His  favorite  Duncan,  who  was  in  Eatonton, 
came  to  his  aid,  and  the  revival  went  on  with  wonderful 
power.  It  reached  the  college  girls,  and  even  in  the  school- 
hours  the  work  went  on.  "  I  was  converted,"  said  a  saintly 
woman  to  me,  only  a  few  days  ago,  "  in  the  bishop's  room, 
in  June,  1839.  There  were  three  of  us,  Sarah  Clopton,  a 
young  lady  from  Florida,  and  myself.  We  had  all  been 
awakened,  and  we  came  into  his  room  between  the  two 
sessions  to  ask  him  to  pray  for  us.  While  he  was  praying, 
each  one  was  converted,  and  in  a  few  moments  of  each  other." 
Sarah  Clopton,  one  of  the  trio,  became  the  wife  of  Dr.  James 
L.  Pierce,  and  the  one  who  told  me  the  story  was  Mrs.  Sallie 
Ward,  one  of  the  elect  ladies  of  the  church.  It  was  impossible 
for  one  to  be  so  successful,  so  admired,  and  to  receive  such 
adulation  and  to  be  ignorant  of  it ;  but,  as  far  as  the  world 
could  see,  it  never  in  the  least  degree  affected  him.  When 
the  paper  which  contained  a  glowing  panegyric  reached  him, 
it  drove  him  to  his  knees,  and  from  them  he  was  called  to  his 
work  in  the  recitation-room.  When  the  summer  came,  he 
spent  his  vacation  preaching  at  camp-meetings  in  Monroe, 
Putnam,  Greene,  and  Hancock.  He  visited  Columbus,  and 
went  into  Alabama,  and  returned  to  Macon  in  October,  and 
then  preached  every  week  till  conference.  At  the  conference 
he  was  reappointed  to  the  presidency  of  the  college,  and, 
tacitly,  to  the  charge  of  the  station.  John  P.  Duncan,  of 
whom  we  have  spoken,  was  the  nominal  preacher  in  charge. 
Perhaps  few  combinations  could  have  been  more  admirably 
made.  Pierce  could  preach  ;  Duncan  could  exhort.  Pierce 
was  no  pastor  ;  Duncan  one  of  the  best.  Pierce  could  not  sing 
a  note  ;  Duncan  sang  like  a  seraph.  So  the  work  began,  and 
went  on.  The  "  History  of  Methodism  in  Macon"  says  "  that 
on  one  Sunday  in  May  ninety  persons  presented  themselves  for 
membership  in  the  church."  He  was  personally  very  popular. 
He  had  a  grace  which  was  irresistible,  a  winning  smile,  a  joy- 
ous laugh,  a  cordial  manner  ;  but  it  was  his  deep  piety,  his 
7 


98  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.         [Chip.  IV. 

unction,  his  intense  love  for  the  good  and  his  fierce  hate  for 
the  bad,  which  explains  the  results  of  his  work.  He  made  no 
compromise  with  evil.      He  believed  the  Gospel  he  preached. 

The  trustees  of  the  college  became  alarmed  at  the  earnest 
way  in  which  he  preached  and  the  way  in  which  he  worked, 
and  they  begged  him  to  desist  ;  he  would  injure  the  col- 
lege. He  told  them  his  resignation  was  at  their  service,  but 
his  Master's  work  he  would  do.  During  the  year  he  preached 
the  terrors  of  the  law  so  plainly,  that  the  editor  of  a  long-ex- 
tinct Universalist  paper  said  he  could  smell  fire  and  brimstone 
half  a  mile  from  the  church.  During  the  year  he  was  preach- 
ing for  the  people,  he  would  go  down  to  the  little  city  and, 
sitting  around  the  stores,  gather  up  material  for  his  Sunday 
sermon.  One  day  he  heard  of  a  cotton-transaction  especially 
rascally.  The  next  day  he  took  occasion  to  detail  the  very 
occurrence,  as  illustrative  of  loving  the  wages  of  unrighteous- 
ness. It  was  this  shrewd,  quick  observation  of  men  and  his 
thorough  fearlessness  in  saying  what  he  thought  that  gave 
such  piquancy  oftentimes  to  his  sermons. 

He  was  elected  a  member  of  the  General  Conference  which 
met  in  Baltimore  in  May.  1S40.  The  delegates  were  Samuel 
K.  Hodges,  Lovick  Pierce,  William  J.  Parks,  Elijah  Sinclair, 
and  George  V .  Tierce.  This  was  the  first  instance  in  the  his- 
tory of  the  church  of  Georgia  and,  as  far  as  I  know,  in  Amer- 
ican Methodism,  in  which  a  father  and  son  were  alike  chosen 
to  the  same  General  Conference.  The  conference  met  in  Bal- 
timore, and  of  the  delegates  every  Southern  man  at  this  writ- 
ing is  dead.  Mr.  Pierce  was  a  young  member,  and  the  jour- 
nal does  not  show  that  he  made  a  motion  or  made  a  speech, 
lie  had  not  been  out  of  Georgia  before,  except  to  Eastern 
Alabama  and  to  South  Carolina.  On  this  journey  he  went  to 
Charleston,  where  he  met  Wightman,  and  they  went  on  the 
steamer  to  Wilmington,  and  thence  by  rail  to  Baltimore.  He 
preached  every  Sunday  in  Baltimore.  He  preached,  May 
3d,  "  Examine  yourselves  whether  ye  be  in  the  faith  ;  prove 
your  own  selves." — 2  Corinthians  13:  5  ;  May  10th,  "I  am 
the  resurrection    and  the  life,"  etc. — John    11:25    and    26  ; 


1839-1843.]  nfe  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  99 

May  17th,  "  Let  not  your  heart  be  troubled." — John  14  :  1 
and  3  ;  May  24th,  "  But  what  saith  it,"  etc. — Romans  10  :  8, 
9,  and  10. 

He  was  on  two  committees  :  one  to  receive  centenary  of- 
ferings, and  one  on  slavery.  The  journal  of  the  conference 
shows  that  there  was  much  agitation  on  the  subject  of  sla- 
very, but  the  conservatives  were  very  largely  in  the  majority, 
and  the  conference  even  went  so  far  as  to  forbid  the  recep- 
tion of  negro  testimony  in  a  church  trial.  Bishop  Pierce  told 
me,  years  afterward,  that  even  then  he  saw  that  separation  of 
the  church  was  inevitable,  and  that  it  would  have  been  bet- 
ter to  have  peaceably  divided  the  territory  into  two  General 
Conferences  at  that  time  than  to  have  waited  for  the  inevita- 
ble conflict.  He  left  the  General  Conference  early  in  June  ; 
preached  in  Charleston  twice,  June  7th,  and  preached  in 
Macon  on  the  14th.  The  railroad  lines  were  now  being  ex- 
tended, and  his  travel  was  quicker  and  easier.  During  the 
hot  month  of  June  his  record  shows  that  he  preached  twice 
on  the  14th,  once  on  the  17th,  twice  on  the  21st,  once  on  the 
24th,  and  twice  on  the  28th. 

In  July  he  went  on  his  summer  campaign,  and  preached  at 
the  Monroe  camp  ground,  then  at  Hamilton,  then  in  Pike, 
then  in  Columbus,  and  then  in  Talbot. 

He  lived  in  the  college.  There  was  a  steward  who  attend- 
ed to  the  affairs  of  the  large  college  family,  and  he  was  re- 
lieved from  the  care  of  providing  for  his  table  ;  but  the 
college  was  an  unceasing  source  of  anxiety  to  him.  The 
building  was  not  completed,  and,  above  all,  not  paid  for.  There 
were  eighty  thousand  dollars  in  assets,  and  only  fifty  thou- 
sand in  liabilities.  But,  alas  !  liabilities  never  shrink,  and 
assets  always  do,  and  when  cool  business  men  looked  into 
the  condition  of  the  Georgia  Female  College  it  was  found  to 
be  insolvent. 

He  was  now  in  charge  of  an  enterprise  new  and  untried, 
and  his  Board  of  Trust,  although  they  had  every  intention  to 
act  wisely,  had  no  precedent  to  direct  them,  and  no  experience 
to  aid  them  ;  then  the  tide  in  business  had  turned,  and  there 


100  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce,  [Chap.  iv. 

was  an  ebb,  and  the  wave  of  prosperity  was  receding  every 
day  ;  and  then,  too,  he  took  other  burdens  on  his  shoulders. 
The  period  of  which  we  are  now  writing  seems  to  have 
been  a  period  of  remarkable  awakening  on  the  subject  of 
woman's  place  in  the  literary  world.  Not  only  were  colk 
established,  and  not  only  was  the  cause  of  female  education 
earnestly  pressed,  but  the  Ladies'  Magazine  was  now  sent 
out  from  several  centres.  Godey's  Lady's  Book  was  in  the 
infancy  <>f  its  remarkable  career.  The  South  was  beginning 
to  feel  the  need  of  a  distinctively  Southern  literature,  and 
the  Southern  Literary  Messenger  was  in  successful  operation 
in  Richmond.  A  young  friend  and  companion  of  Mr.  Pierce's, 
Philip  C.  Pendleton,  proposed  to  establish  a  magazine  in 
Macon,  the  Southern  Ladies  Book,  and  invited  .Mr.  Pierce 
to  edit  it  for  him.      1  man  ever  lived  who  had  less 

the  labors  of  the  editor  than  George  Pierce  had  in 
lSa<j.  He,  however,  was  exceedingly  anxious  for  the  success 
of  the  Georgia  Female  College,  and  for  tin.' advance  of  South- 
ern literature,  and  anxious  that  his  young  friend  should  suc- 
ceed in  his  daring  venture.  The  cooler  head  of  his  old  friend, 
Judge  Longstreet,  saw  this  project  of  Mr.  Pendleton  in  a 
different  light  from  the  sanguine  editor,  and  he  wrote  his 
young  friend  the  following  in  reply  to  a  letter  from  him  : 

"  WESTOVER,  4  N'«>vr  1839. 
"  DEAR  BjU  >.  PlNCE,  (so  you  write  \t) : 

"  I  have  received  one  of  the  most  abominable  (in  pen- 
manship I  mean),  miserable,  merciless,  tantalizing  epistles  from 
you  that  ever  was  disgorged  from  the  brain  of  any  President  of 
any  college  in  any  civilized  land  in  any  age,  I  believe.  As  I 
might  say  of  you  what  a  fellow  with  less  propriety  once  said 
of  me,  '  I  would  not  take  a  thousand  dollars  for  my  part  in 
you,'  and  consequently  feel  myself  a  little  scorched  by  what- 
ever in  the  slightest  degree  reflects,  or  is  likely  to  reflect,  dis- 
credit upon  you,  I  consider  myself  privileged  to  scold  you 
just  as  much  as  I  please  whether  you  be  right  or  wrong,  in 
fault  or  out  of  fault,  and  especially  called  upon  to   scold  you 


1889-1843,]         Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  101 

when  you  are  not  only  in  fault,  but  in  fault  from  sheer  care- 
lessness. Believe  me  I  am  not  practising  presidential  authority 
in  order  to  get  my  hand  in  by  the  first  of  January.  If  that 
were  the  case  you  are  the  last  person  in  the  world  that  I 
would  put  under  the  drill ;  but  I  am  chafing  under  wounds 
that  are  my  own  as  well  as  yours.  '  Why,  what  upon  earth 
have  I  done  to  kick  up  such  a  dust  ?  '  I  hear  you  exclaim.  I 
answer  you  have  written  me  a  most  unpresidential  letter — not 
in  orthography,  etymology,  syntax,  or  prosody,  but  in  chirog- 
raphy.  Now,  just  let  me  give  you  the  correct  reading  of  a 
few  sentences  of  it.  Passing  over  the  address — no,  I'll  not  pass 
over  that,  for  that  everybody  sees — "  Rev"  Augustu,,  B.,, 
Longstreet,  Augusta,  Georgia."  Now,  I  should  like  to  know 
what  those  two  little  quotation  marks  are  put  after  my 
Christian  name  for.  You've  turned  the  '  d  '  in  '  Revd '  into 
quotation  marks,  and  put  like  marks  to  the  right  of  my  first 
name  ;  and  thus  made  it  a  fair  quotation  ;  and  you've  put 
your  favorite  little  dabs  to  the  right  of  the  B,  and  that,  viewed 
with  the  preceding,  makes  my  middle  name  a  quotation  too. 
The  fair  interpretation  of  all  which  is,  '  I  have  seen  you  ad- 
dressed as  Augustus  B.,  or  seen  your  sign-manual  in  that  form, 
but  I  doubt  the  correctness  of  it,  or  I  will  not  take  the  re- 
sponsibility of  so  calling  you  ;  though  L  have  no  scruples  in 
avouching  your  right  to  the  appellation  of  Longstreet.'  Now, 
I  assure  you,  sir,  I  am  as  legitimately  entitled  to  the  two  first 
as  I  am  to  the  last.  My  father  and  mother  concurred  in 
giving  them  to  me,  and  your  father  baptized  me  in  them. 
But  it  was  extremely  thoughtless  if  not  uncandid  in  you  to 
put  down  my  first  name  as  a  quotation  ;  for  you  never  saw 
me  nor  anyone  else  write  it  as  you  have  written  it.  You 
have  it  August?/.  To  be  sure  there  is  a  little  scratch  at  the 
tail  of  the  u  final  which  might  be  read  as  an  s ;  but  with 
equal  propriety,  perhaps  with  more,  considering  your  partial- 
ity for  such  things,  might  it  be  considered  another  half-ob- 
literated quotation  mark.  But  to  the  body  of  the  letter — 
After  remarking  that  you  have  put  a  comma  after  the  name, 
another  after  the  city,  and  a  period  after  the  State,  after  leav- 


102  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  [Chap.  iv. 

ing  me  to  guess  where  and  whence  your  letter  was  written, 
you  proceed  : 

"  '  Dear  Brothe',  Mv.  Pendleto  c  is  aboud  on  exsseimend 
with  putt\-  joe  jsrojects  of  success  and  derwx  you  c  "pvotior  g 
toop  P  usponsbetlity  of  gnuy  sin  you  nome  os  one  f  i"  contxi- 
butor  F  rom  ll  usd  h°  ho'  jsnsonol  pledge.  Pill  you  confeem 
yy  nomiotion  ?  '  and  so  you  go  on  to  the  end  of  your  com- 
munication, when  you  cut  loose  into  a  little  bunch  of  tangled 
silk  which  you  meant  for  '  yours  affectionately,'  and  sign 
yourself  G.  F.  Pince — or  rather  G.  F.  Pine,  for  the  little  tail 
to  the  c  is  no  more  like  an  e  than  it's  like  an  eel.  You  in- 
variably make  a  small  g  for  the  personal  pronoun  / — make 
a  whip-fast  to  your  final  /'s  and  flirt  it  back  so  as  to  turn  them 
all  to  ifs — make  your  sV  and  />*s  exactly  alike,  and  make  the 
same  marks  for  /'s,  /"s,  i*s,  u's,  nls,  m's,  is  and  c*s.  '  The,'  you 
write  '  th,'  which  looks  more  like  1st  than  the  word  in- 
tended, and  if  you  will  show  me  a  single  a  in  your  whole 
letter,  Fll  give  you  a  premium.  You  rarely  use  a  stop  but 
the  period  ;  and  that  you  do  not  use  at  the  end  of  your  name. 
Dr.  Waddell  used  to  say  that  it's  always  right  to  stop  when 
you're  done  ;  and  I  agree  with  him.  If  1  had  no  other 
apology  for  devoting  so  much  of  my  sheet  to  this  long 
critique  than  that  I  had  to  use  foolscap  for  the  want  of  letter 
paper,  and  thought  it  better  to  send  you  written  than  blank- 
paper,  this  would  be  sufficient  ;  but  I  hope  you  will  find 
amusement  if  not  profit  in  the  foregoing. 

"  As  to  the  main  subject,  not  much  space  is  necessary  for 
m>-  views  of  that.  'The  Southern  Ladies'  Book'  will  do  for 
a  name,  if  book  it  will  be,  which  I  doubt.  But  I  should  have 
preferred  something  less  common-place.  The  plan  is  well 
conceived,  will  go  into  operation,  progress  twelve  or  eighteen 
months,  and  expire,  because  subscribers  won't  pay,  though 
dunned  from  the  first  number  to  the  last.  It  will  start  pretty 
fair,  grow  lame  and  lamer  at  every  step  until  it  expires  ;  sim- 
ply because  your  long  list  of  presidents  wont  write  for  it. 
May  be  Prother  Jesse  Mercer  may  give  you  a  few  lines 
alamode  The   Cluster,  but  I  doubt  it.     I  question  whether 


1S39-1842.]         Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  103 

you  ever  get  more  from  him  than  some  didactics  upon  Babto 
and  Baptize  Your  only  hope  of  escape  from  these  issues  is 
in  the  minimum  which  have  fixed  for  your  subscription  list, 
before  you  start.  You'll  run  up  to  five  hundred  so  fast  that 
you'll  almost  wish  you  had  made  three  thousand  the  mini- 
mum— from  five  to  seven  hundred  you'll  begin  to  think  surely 
the  prospectus  has  not  been  half  circulated — from  seven 
hundred  to  one  thousand  you'll  begin  to  fret  at  the  want  of 
public  spirit  in  the  South — and  between  one  thousand  and 
fifteen  hundred  it  will  gradually  ease  out  of  notice.  It  would 
have  been  more  likely  to  succeed  as  a  quarterly  than  as  a 
monthly  publication,  because  many  will  write  by  the  quarter 
who  would  not  per  month,  if  it  ever  gets  under  way.  I  dare 
not  promise  to  write  for  it,  because  I  know  not  that  I  will  be 
able  to  do  so  without  neglecting  imperative  duties  ;  but 
I  hope  and  think  I  shall.  I  have  no  grave  '  Baldwin  '  or 
'  Hall'  on  hand  (finished)  but  may  have,  or  something  else 
by  the  time  you  are  ready  for  it.  What  think  you  of  turning 
the  Augusta  Mirror  into  the  Ladies1  Book?  You  want  an 
operative.  That  paper  has  it.  That  paper  wants  editors,  you 
have  them.  "A.  B.  Longstreet. 

"  P.  S. — The  more  I  think  of  uniting  the  Mirror  and  the 
Ladies'  Book  the  more  I  like  it.  Thompson  has  a  suitable 
press,  type  for  the  purpose,  and  a  living  subscription  list,  and 
would  be  willing  to  leave  Augusta  since  the  fever,  I  suppose. 
Think  of  this.     He  is  a  clever  fellow  withal." 

The  judge  advised  against  it,  but  when  did  advice  ever 
prevail  against  printing  a  book  or  starting  a  newspaper  or  a 
magazine  ?  The  Southern  Ladies'  Book  came  to  the  birth 
January,  1840,  and  struggled  manfully  for  existence  for  ten 
months  and  then  exit.  This  book  contains  the  first  publica- 
tion of  any  article  by  Mr.  Pierce  save  a  few  in  the  Southern 
Christian  Advocate.  The  opening  article  is  evidently  from 
his  pen.     He  says,  in  concluding  his  introduction  : 

"  Woman's  varied  relations,  her  influence,  early,  constant, 


104  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.         [CllAP- IV- 

unfailing  demand  that  she  should  have  every  facility  for  ac- 
quiring knowledge,  that  her  mind  should  be  stored  with  varied 
information,  thus  fitting  her  for  the  honorable  discharge  of  her 
high  and  multiplied  responsibilities.  Christianity  has  brought 
up  the  female  character  from  the  drudgery  and  oppressions 
of  barbarism  and  bondage  to  a  moral  elevation  accordant 
with  the  grace  and  Loveliness  of  her  person  ;  ha-  wanned  into 
beauteous  life  the  blessed  virtues  of  her  heart,  and  made  her 
home  a  charmed  circle  within  whose  magic  lines  vice  has  no 
possession,  and  where  purity  dwells  a  guardian  and  an  orna- 
ment." 

But  he  was  not  only  editor  but  contributor,  and  under  the 
non  de  plume  of"  Clio  "  he  wrote  sundry  short  poems.  One 
of  these  was  written  in  reply  to  one  written  by  that  gifted 
woman,  then  Miss  Philo  Casey,  afterward  I'hilo  Casey  Eve, 
one  of  the  Regents  at  the  Mount  Vernon  Association.  I  give 
it  as  she  sends  it : 

[Written  one  evening  in  the  office  (front  room)  on  the  Bird  lot,  now- 
owned  bj  Pierce.  Surrounded  by  a  laughing  trio,  Juli.i  Bur- 
net, Aunt  Fanny,  and  Mr.  Mifflin,  who  was  painting  Roservelle,  the  little 
dog.      I  was  indulging  in  a  tit  of  the  blucs.\ 

•■  Death!  and  darkness  I  and  desolati 
These  shadow  forth  my  fate.     Mourn  not, 
The  grave  should  take  what  hope  has  tied  from, 

iish  made  its  prey.      Hearts  dark  as  mine 
Should  seek  as  fitting  tenement  the  tomb. 
Mourn  not,  sweet  girl,  that  such  should  be  my  fate, 
There  is  no  terror  in  the  dreamless  rest 
Awaiting  the  worn  spirit  which  hath  striven, 
And  striven  in  vain,  to  find  a  solace  here. 
Rest!  rest  !  'tis  all  I  ask  or  wish  for — too  much 
My  heart  has  lived  to  last — too  wildly 
Has  its  pulses  beat — their  strength  has  fled  ; 
And  now  with  nerve  relaxed  and  fluttering  beat, 
It  calmly  waits  release.     Speed,  speed  thy  flight, 
Thou  winged  messenger  of  Time,  quiet  is  joy 
And  rest  is  Heaven  to  the  o'ercharged  heart  ; 
And  where  will  these  be  found/i>r  me, 
Save  in  the  dark  and  dreamless  grave  !  " 

March  23d.  P.  E.  C. 


1839-1842.]         ufe  ami  Times  0f  Qeoyge  F.  Pierce.  105 

It  was  sent  to  the  Souther n  Post,  for  which  Mr.  Phil  Pen- 
dleton had  urgently  entreated  I  would  sometimes  send  him 
a  few  lines.     The  next  paper  contained  the  following  : 

To . 


What  means  thy  heart's  heavy  sigh — this  breaking 

Forth  of  an  inward  grief,  as  if  some  deep 

And  mighty  sorrow  cumbered  life's  bounding 

Pulse,  and  hung  thy  days  with  darkness  ?     Has  youth 

Lost  its  vigor  and  its  charm — its  passion 

For  the  beautiful  and  bright,  the  moonlight, 

Song  of  winds  and  silvery  sheen  of  stars, 

That  look  down  calmly,  coldly  clear  as  though 

No  hope  of  earth  had  ever  passed  away  ? 

Shake  off  the  sad  remembrance  that  usurps 

Now  thy  bosom's  throne,  and  with  shadowy 

Sceptre  sways  thy  thought ;  nor  woo  the  lightning 

Of  the  past,  to  scathe  and  burn  thy  young  hopes, 

Which  lifting  high  their  leafless  boughs  wildly 

Toss,  e'en  as  winter  trees  by  tempests  shaken, 

And  yet  like  them  will  live  to  bud  and  bloom. 

What  though  thy  dream  has  fled  "asa  vision 

Of  the  night  when  one  awaketh,"  and  earth 

Seem  dim  without  its  brightness  ?  Thou  may'st  dream 

Again,  and  find  thy  heart's  imaginings 

A  sweet  blest  prophecy  of  things  to  be. 

The  crushed  flower  revives  not  though  the  rain 

Come  oft  upon  it,  nor  autumn's  leaf  turn 

Green  when  Spring  revisits  Earth  with  balmy 

Smile.     Yet  the  drooping  heart  o'ershadowed  now, 

And  desolate,  with  many  a  bitter  thought, 

From  the  pressure  of  its  doom  may  rise  elastic — 

Its  wounds  forgot — its  sorrows  gone  as  shadows 

From  a  sky  where  sunlight  triumphs. 

Thou  in  thy  bosom's  sanctuary 
Hast  bowed  down  in  worship  of  an  idol, 
And  found  it  clay  ;  and  thy  loved  thoughts  dismayed 
And  broken  in  fragments  lie,  like  rose-leaves 
Crushed  by  the  storm's  rude  step — and  yet  'tis  well 
To  drink  from  sorrow's  cup,  for  in  the  bitter 
Draught  there's  wisdom  teaching  the  lone  spirit 
To  look  from  the  world  away  to  Him  on  high 
Who  hath  the  living  water. 


106  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  [Chap,  iv 

Give  thy  hope 
To  Heaven,  nor  cast,  in  blindness,  the  treasures 
Of  thy  soul  upon  earth's  troubled  waters, 
In  whose  stormy  swell  the  heart's  quiet  dies, 
And  only  wreck  and  ruin  live.  CLIO. 

I  find  another  fragment  : 

When  mournful  sighs  the  hollow  wind, 
And  pensive  thoughts  enwrap  thy  mind, 

Ami  e'en  thy  heart  in  sorrow's  tone 

To  musing  melancholy  prone, 

Should  sigh  because  it  feels  alone, 
Remember  me. 

When  stealing  to  thy  secret  bower 
.  otion  claims  the  holy  hour, 
When  leaning  o'er  that  sacred  page 
Whose  spirit  curbs  affection's  rage, 
Controls  our  youth,  sustains  our  a 

member  me.  G. 

He  was  aiming  to  do  a  very  difficult  thing,  to  arouse  a 
proper  sentiment  on  female  education,  and  anxious  to  avoid 
going  too  far.  In  John  Andrew's  journal  of  1792,  he  says, 
"  I  am  surprised  to  find  Brother  Crutchficld  averse  to  his 
daughters  ever  learning  figures."  and  yet  John  Crutchficld 
was  one  of  the  leading  men  of  his  day.  There  were  few  high- 
schools  for  girls,  and  they  were  not  largely  patronized.  The 
idea  of  educating  a  woman  as  a  man  was  educated,  was,  if 
not  actually  hooted  at,  received  with  great  hesitancy.  A 
female  college  had  never  been  attempted.  Of  the  prejudice 
against  female  education,  he  says,  speaking  of  prejudices 
:ist  innovations  of  any  kind  : 

"The  operation  of  these  prejudices,  sometimes  annoy 
the  eager,  confident  revolutionist,  and  doubtless  frequently 
hinder  the  application  of  the  most  wholesome  correctives  of 
existing  wrongs.  Yet  it  is  a  question  whether  they  may  not 
be  regarded  as  valuable  safeguards  against  the  introduction 
of  those  wild  schemes  of  reform,  that  come  with  all  the  pride 
of  pretension,  assume  the    character  of    philosophy,  are  in 


183C-1S42.]         Life  ami  jjmes  0f  George  F.  Pierce.  107 

themselves  imposing,  and  are  yet  preposterous  and  absurd. 
One  thing  is  certain  ;  they  demand  respect,  if  not  for  the 
preponderance  of  benefits  in  their  favor,  at  least  for  their  in- 
evitable action  if  condemned  and  set  at  naught.  We  live  in 
an  age  of  extraordinary  inventions,  of  bold,  startling,  inde- 
pendent theories.  Customs  of  great  antiquity  are  assaulted, 
without  respect  to  their  age.  Institutions  long  approved  are 
displaced  by  the  substitutes  provided  in  modern  wisdom  ; 
opinions  which  have  been  received  on  trust  from  time  imme- 
morial are  exploded,  faith  in  them  destroyed,  popularity  con- 
stituting no  shield  to  defend  them  from  attack  and  overthrow. 
There  is  a  curious,  prying,  revolutionary  spirit  abroad,  and 
whatever  may  have  challenged  our  admiration  must  now  be 
subjected  to  the  ordeal  of  rigid  scrutiny  ;  the  secret  reasons 
must  come  forth,  the  intrinsic  merits  must  be  disclosed,  and 
if  found  wanting  must  be  swept  off  to  join  the  rubbish  of 
legendary  lore.  Under  such  circumstances  caution  becomes 
us.  Every  change  is  not  an  improvement.  Indeed,  a  system 
that  is  clearly  erroneous  in  some  prominent  particulars,  and 
yet  is  permanent  and  uniform,  is  preferable  to  a  series  of 
changes." 

These  general  principles  lay  at  the  base  of  his  action 
through  life.  Changes  must  be,  changes  should  be,  but  all 
changes  should  be  carefully  made.  When  he  came  to  speak 
of  the  application  of  these  principles  to  the  matter  in  hand, 
he  said  : 

"  Who  does  not  know  that  in  the  popular  mode  of  female 
education  there  has  been  more  tinsel  than  gold,  more  regard 
for  imposing  display  than  for  substantial  benefit.  The  polish 
of  manners,  initiation  into  the  mysteries  of  dress,  the  arcana 
of  the  toilet,  to  teach  the  feet  the  poetry  of  motion,  the 
fingers  to  strike  melodious  numbers  from  the  well-tuned  in- 
strument, the  ornament  of  a  name,  signifying  nothing,  the 
eclat  of  having  finished  education  at  some  distinguished  sem- 
inary, have  been  the  aim  of  too  many  parents,  and  of  almost 
all  who  have  assumed  the  management  of  youth. 

"  It  is  a  superficial  age  ;  hasty,  enterprising,  locomotive  in 


108  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  [Ohap.  iv. 

spirit.  It  appears  in  the  adventurous  speculations  of  com- 
merce, in  the  abandonment  of  the  former  slow  processes  of  ac- 
cumulation, in  the  wild  schemes  of  men  that  make  haste  to  be 
rich,  and  in  the  increasing  disposition  everywhere  to  make  a 
fair  show  of  character  and  means  upon  fictitious  capital.  The 
world  is  travelling  under  an  impulse  that  scorns  delay,  posts 
precipitately  ahead,  bounding  with  the  hope  of  immeasura- 
ble good  to  come. 

"  I  have  but  little  hope  of  seeing  any  great  improvement 
until  such  a  revolution  can  be  wrought  in  public  sentiment 
and  general  practice  as  shall  prevent  the  introduction  of  girls 
into  society  at  so  early  an  age  as  is  now  the  common  habit 
of  the  land." 

"'A  religious  education,  French  philosopher, '  is  the 

first  want  of  any  people.'  The  doctrine  is  sound,  the  senti- 
ment is  just  Contemplate  Christianity  in  its  effects  upon  the 
civil,  domestic,  and  political  relations  of  life,  and  that  man  is 
neither  philosopher,  philanthropist,  nor  patriot  who  does  not 
recognize  it  as  the  tutelary  genius  of  his  country,  the  minis- 
tering angel  of  the  world.  The  Bible  has  been  too  long  ex- 
cluded from  the  republic  of  letters.  I  le  who  would  prolong 
this  banishment,  forbid  the  alliance  of  learning  and  religion,  is  a 
moral  madman,  nmre  fit  for  confinement  in  a  lunatic  asylum 
than  for  the  immunities  of  society.  We  repudiate  and  de- 
nounce the  principle  of  compromise  and  exclusion.  With  ed- 
ucate >n  div<  >rced  from  Christian  morals  we  hold  no  fellowship, 
and  into  the  assembly  of  its  advocates  we  would  not  enter. 
N  •,  let  the  Bible  be  to  our  colleges  what  the  Shekinah  was  to 
the  temple  of  the  olden  time,  at  once  the  symbol  of  the  pres- 
ence and  the  worship  of  God.  Science  herself  is  blind  to 
the  true  interest  of  man  until  her  eyes  are  opened  by  the 
waters  of  Siloam's  pool.  Multiply  your  academics,  erect 
your  colleges,  organize  your  faculties,  gather  your  pupils 
together,  deliver  your  lectures,  seek  all  the  advantages  of 
apparatus  and  cabinets  and  libraries,  but  exclude  the  Script- 
ures, and  you  turn  loose  upon  society  minds  full-armed  for 
mischief.      The  rod,  which  in  Aaron's  hand  would  have  bud- 


1 839-1843.]         Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  109 

ded  and  blossomed,  you  convert  into  a  serpent  that  will  de- 
vour wellnigh  all  the  virtues  of  the  land  ;  but  let  the  warm  and 
living  spirit  of  Christianity,  as  here,  thank  God  it  does  shed 
its  magic  breath  upon  the  youthful  minds  that  crowd  your 
halls  of  learning,  then  shall  hope  beam  over  them  in  the  light 
of  hallowed  prophecy,  and  the  revolution  of  Time's  wheel 
shall  evolve  the  destiny  of  each  in  the  brightness  of  knowl- 
edge and  virtue.  Let  politicians  make  penal  enactments,  and 
seek  to  bind  depravity  with  human  laws,  as  did  the  Philistines 
the  man  of  Gaza  with  feeble  cords,  but  be  it  our  labor  to 
plant  society  in  the  shadows  of  the  eternal  throne,  draw  over 
it  the  shield  of  omnipotence,  and  protect  its  interests  with  the 
thunder  that  issues  from  the  thick  darkness  in  which  Jehovah 
dwells.  Talk  ye  of  Pierean  springs  and  Castalian  founts  and 
Arcadian  groves  ;  give  me  the  Testament  of  Jesus,  the  in- 
spiration of  the  Spirit,  the  baptism  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  Let 
others  seek  the  accomplishment  of  classic  lore,  wander  amid 
the  ruins  of  antiquity,  learn  the  lessons  of  wisdom  from  the 
gray  chronicles  of  departed  times,  sit  wrapt  in  poetic  mood 
as  the  evening  looks  down  upon  the  lone  and  mighty  wild, 
over  whose  bosom,  wide  and  waste,  lie  scattered  the  moulder- 
ing relics  of  cities  that  have  crumbled  into  tombs  ;  be  it  ours, 
my  countrymen,  to  lead  our  children  amid  the  gardens  of 
God,  and  point  them  to  the  glories  of  the  great  hereafter. 
Let  the  dying  enemy  of  God  bequeath  his  millions  to  rear  a 
marble  monument  within  whose  capacious  dimensions  the 
fearful  experiment  is  to  be  made  of  raising  men  without  re- 
ligion ;  but  on  this  institution  rest  forever  the  dews  of  Zion 
and  the  smile  of  God." 

I  have  made  these  extracts  to  give  a  specimen  of  his  style 
of  speaking  at  this  time.  He  spoke  first  and  wrote  after- 
ward, and  he  reproduced  almost  exactly  what  he  said  as  he 
said  it.  When  to  this  brilliance  of  diction  is  added  the 
charm  of  an  almost  perfect  elocution,  and  all  accompanied  by 
an  expression  of  intense  conviction,  we  may  not  wonder  at 
the  sensation  produced.  For  fifty  years  he  never  spoke  to  a 
listless  audience,  he  never  failed  to  fill  any  house. 


110  life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  [Chap.  IT. 

His  social  surroundings  were  not  such  as  were  to  his  lik- 
ing. He  was  in  a  large  building,  the  head  of  a  great  family, 
and  he  had  none  of  the  delightful  abandon  of  home  life. 
Lovick  was  born  in  the  college.  Ella  was  a  bright  child  of 
five,  and  he  wanted  a  home  of  his  own.  He  always  advo- 
cated the  course  of  his  father,  and  of  his  father's  associates, 
in  having  homes  of  their  own.  He  wanted  one  fur  himself, 
lie  wanted  the  free  air  of  the  field  again.  Editing  magazines 
and  teaching  moral  philosophy  did  not  suit  him.  So  he  de- 
termined to  resign.  The  first  graduating  class  went  forth 
from  the  college  halls  July  16,  1840,  and  the  retiring  presi- 
dent made  them  his  farewell  address.  They  were  going  to 
leave  the  college,  and  so  was  he. 

This  closing  address  gives  us  a  specimen  of  his  style  when 
he  chose  to  walk  in  the  fields  of  fancy.  He  was  young  him- 
self, not  thirty  years  old,  and  they  were  girls.  Discussions 
such  as  he  had  entered  into  the  year  before,  were  unsuited  to 
the  audience,  or  to  those  for  whom  his  remarks  were  especially 
intended.  One  of  his  most  remarkable  excellencies  as  a  pub- 
lic speaker  was  that  of  adapting  himself  to  any  class  of 
hearers.  He  could  be  ornate,  philosophic,  argumentative, 
didactic,  pathetic,  as  the  occasion  called  for.  Perhaps  in  this 
respect  he  was  one  of  the  most  remarkable  men  of  his  time. 
There  have  been  actors  whose  power  to  change  expression  of 
countenance  was  marvellous,  but  I  doubt  if  any  one  had  such 
power  over  facial  expression  as  Bishop  Pierce  had  over  his 
verbal  utterance.  The  address  is  simply  brotherly  advice, 
full  of  simple  beauty.     He  says,  in  closing  it : 

"Time  will  soon  be  done.  The  day  scarcely  says  at 
morning's  rosy  dawn,  '  I  come,'  ere  the  sound,  '  I  am  gone,' 
sinks  and  dies  in  evening's  quiet  hush.  The  present  will 
soon  be  the  past.  The  bounding  blood,  struck  by  the  chill 
of  death,  will  creep  in  funeral  motion  to  the  heart,  whose  fee- 
ble pulsations  can  send  it  forth  no  more.  Life's  gay  attire 
must  be  surrendered  for  the  grave's  pale  shroud,  and  the 
freedom  of  earth  for  confinement  in  the  coffin  and  the  tomb. 
Take  heed  to  your  ways,  your  hearts,  and  your  hopes.     So 


1839-1843.]         j_ife  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  Ill 

live  that  when  this  earthly  tabernacle  lies  a  darkened  ruin, 
and  the  soul  shall  send  its  power  forth,  it  may  receive  a 
welcome  from  its  God  and  a  mansion  in  its  Father's  house. 
My  task  is  wellnigh  over.  It  remains  but  to  pronounce  the 
parting  words,  and  each  one  of  us  to  our  ways  ;  strangers 
and  pilgrims  upon  the  earth,  girt  for  its  toil  and  its  grief; 
doomed,  perhaps,  to  meet  no  more  till  we  become  kindred 
dwellers  in  the  house  appointed  for  all  the  living.  I  have  no 
complaint  to  make,  no  wrong  to  forgive.  If  in  the  exercise 
of  authority  a  word  to  wound  has  been  spoken  by  me,  let  the 
motive  bereave  it  of  its  harshness,  and  the  feelings  it  awak- 
ened be  numbered  with  the  things  forgotten,  or  at  rest. 
Kindness  has  marked  our  intercourse,  let  friendship  hallow 
our  farewell — 

"  A  word  that  must  be  and  hath  been, 
A  sound  that  makes  us  linger, 
Yet  farewell." 

With  the  end  of  the  year  his  life  as  the  College  President 
ceased,  but  not  his  connection  with  the  college.  He  re- 
mained in  the  college  as  its  president  until  the  close  of  the 
year  1840,  when  its  financial  troubles  made  some  immediate 
exertion  necessary  if  it  was  to  be  saved  from  sale.  He  was 
selected  as  its  agent,  and  although  he  had  the  greatest  aver- 
sion to  the  work  of  begging  money  from  individuals,  he  felt 
the  responsibility  resting  upon  him,  and  instead  of  going 
back  as  he  wished  into  regular  work,  he  accepted  the  agency 
for  the  Georgia  Female  College.  Of  his  work  in  Macon,  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Branham  says  of  him  at  this  time  : 

"  He  left  the  district  in  the  fall  of  1838  for  the  Presidency 
of  the  Methodist  Female  College  in  Macon.  The  impressions 
made  upon  me  and  others  during  his  incumbency  in  Macon 
were  that  his  work  here  was  phenomenal  compared  with  the 
workers  of  former  years.  Sermons  preached  in  Macon  and 
in  the  surrounding  country  at  that  time  still  linger  in  the 
memories  of  the  hearers  who  survive,  and  did  till  death  with 
the  hundreds  who  heard  and  felt  their  power.     Among  them 


112  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierre.  [<'nu:  iv. 

was  the  funeral  discourse  of  Brother  Robert  Ford,  on  the  '  Ten 
Virgins,'  and  his  sermon  to  commercial  men,  especially  to 
dealers  in  cotton  and  speculators  in  general. 

"  I  was  on  Clinton  and  Monticello  Circuit  in  1839  and  met 
him  several  times.  He  came  to  assist  me  at  a  four  days' 
meeting  in  Clinton,  a  place  that  needed  just  such  labors  as  he 
could  bestow.  I  lis  preaching  made  a  deep  impression  upon  a 
congregation  composed  in  part  of  quite  a  number  of  clever 
but  irreligious  young  and  middle-aged  men.  Up  to  Satur- 
day noon  everything  moved  on  auspiciously  ;  but,  alas  ! 
on  that  day  a  messenger  called  him  to  Macon  to  the  funeral 
of  Robert  Fort,  a  layman  of  blessed  memory.  I  was  much 
oppressed  to  supply  his  place — dreading  the  contrast  and  dis- 
appointment of  the  people.  I  welcomed  the  approach  of  a 
storm-cloud  which  would  have  relieved  me  from  officiating  on 
Saturday  night.  His  brotherly  sympathy  with  my  disti 
was  deeply  touching.  I  [aving  no  text  he  gave  me  one  or  two, 
and  promised  his  prayers,  and  his  return  as  soon  as  practica- 
ble. I  ventured  on  the  subject  (  1  Kings  10:  2l)  suggested 
by  him,  and,  to  my  a  cable  surprise,  the  enemy's  ranks 

gave  way,  and  being  reinforced  by  the  bishop  and  Dr.  Ellison 
in  a  day  or  two,  the  Lord  gave  us  a  wonderful  revival. 
Among  the  subjects  was  Rev.  A.  M.  Thigpen,  of  the  North 
Georgia  Conference." 


ft  iff  ' 


REV.  W.    R.    BRANHAM. 


CHAPTER  V. 

VINEVILLE  LIFE,  1841-42,  AGED  30-31. 

Vineville — Home  Life — Alfred  T.  Mann — Bright  Days — Political  Views 
— Dr.  Mann's  Recollections — College  Difficulties — The  Agent — On 
the  Macon  Station — Address  at  Oxford — Extracts — Conference — 
Changes  in  Methodism — Appointed  to  Augusta. 

THE  City  of  Macon  is  encircled  by  a  succession  of  what  were 
then  pine-clad  hills,  rising  at  the  foot  of  the  college  hill,  as  it 
was  called,  and  stretching  for  a  mile  beyond  was  a  beautiful 
plateau  of  pine-forest.  It  was  seventy  feet  higher  than  even 
the  lofty  hill  on  which  the  college  was  built.  To  this  plateau 
some  of  the  Macon  people  had  been  attracted,  and  Judge 
Strong  had  ten  years  before  this  built  his  cottage  in  this  pine- 
wood,  and  called  the  place  Vineville  because  of  its  adapta- 
tion to  grape-growing. 

Thomas  Hardeman,  David  Clopton,  Nathan  Munroe,  Sam- 
uel Bailey,  General  Beall,  and  others,  had  settled  in  Vine- 
ville. Among  them  there  was  quite  a  number  of  Methodists. 
Lands  were  not  high,  and  Mr.  Pierce  bought  forty  acres 
of  pine-land  in  the  upper  part  of  the  straggling  hamlet. 
It  was  a  beautiful  stretch  of  undulating  forest ;  in  front  of  his 
house  was  a  spring  and  a  rivulet ;  the  honeysuckle,  and  the 
bay,  the  yellow  jessamine,  and  the  woodbine,- and  a  myriad 
of  smaller  flowers  adorned  the  wood.  He  had  but  little 
money  with  which  to  improve  ;  but  selecting  a  knoll  above 
the  spring  he  had  built  for  him  a  little  four-room  cottage. 
While  he  was  in  the  college  he  had  bought  a  slave,  Jenny, 
his  cook,  who  had  remained  with  him  until  she  had  grown 
grandchildren  of  her  own,  and  after  bis  little  cottage  was 
ready  for  occupancy,  he  moved  his  family  to  it.     The  fair 


114  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierre.  [Ohaf.V. 

little  wife  had  defty  fingers  and  untiring  industry,  and  as  the 
young  couple  were  not  able  to  plaster,  or  ceil  with  handsome 
material,  they  papered  the  rough  walls  and  made  their  home 
ready  for  occupancy. 

At  the  Conference  of  1840,  Alfred  T.  Mann,  who  had 
married  his  sister  Julia,  was  called  from  Ouincy,  Fla., 
where  he  had  been  in  charge  of  the  church,  and  was  stationed 
in  Macon.  There  was  do  Methodist  parsonage  in  the  city, 
and  the  young  couple  came  to  Vineville,  and  the  two  families 
were  in  the  same  house.  The  bishop  was  always  fond  of  fix- 
ing up  things.  To  plant  trees,  to  plant  flowers,  to  get  the 
ion  ready,  to  see  after  the  horses  and  cows,  was  more  to 
his  taste  than  to  be  the  central  figure  in  the  most  brilliant 
circles.  I  think  that  I  never  knew  a  man  who  loved  home  so 
much  ;  it  was  the  luxury  of  his  life  to  spend  days  or  weeks 
with  his  wife  and  little  ones,  uninterruptedly.  He  never  had 
a  happier  home  than  his  home  in  Vineville.  Ann,  as  he  al- 
ways called  his  wife,  was  the  central  figure.  She  was  thought- 
ful, patient,  thrifty,  full  of  devices.  Neat,  attractive,  a  not- 
able housewife,  who  knew  what  table-comforts  lie  enjoyed, 
and    who   had   them   well    prepared  ;   whose  love  for  him 

.  yet  so  unobtrusive  ;  who,  next  to  God,  had  given 
her  life  to  him  and  to  the  children  ;  who  cared  nothing  for 
the  fashionable,  gay  world  around  her  ;  who  never  fretted, 
however  long  his  absence  ;  who  never  complained,  however 
plain  her  surroundings  ;  who  never  ran  him  in  debt  by  care- 
less nor  by  extravagance  ;  whose  sweet  smile  and  gentle 
ways  brightened  every  day.  She  did  not  write  poetry  nor 
preside  over  institutes,  nor  lead  great  meetings,  but  she  kept 
his  home  and  made  it  an  Eden.  1 1  is  children  were  the  light 
of  his  life.  Ella,  a  sweet,  prattling,  beautiful  child  of  five; 
1  trick,  a  toddling  boy,  and  to  the  Vineville  home  came 
Claudia,  the  baby.  One  day  a  countryman  came  by  Vine- 
ville with  a  pair  of  long  haired,  poorly-fed,  gaunt-looking 
ponies.  They  were  an  ugly  pair,  but  the  young  preacher  had 
an  eye  for  the  points  of  a  good  horse,  and  he  saw  that  there 
was  come  out  in  them,  and  so  he  paid  the  price  the  traveller 


1840-1841.]         jjfe  anci  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  115 

demanded.  The  pair  were  named  "Tippecanoe  and  Tyler 
too,"  and,  for  short,  they  were  known  as  "Tip  and  Ty." 
The  names  of  the  horses  give  us  an  insight  into  his  politics. 
Never  a  politician,  never  having  much  to  do  with  mere  local 
politics,  he  was  yet  decided  in  his  principles,  and  was  an 
old-line  Whig  till  the  party  died  ;  then  a  Union  man,  then  a 
fully-developed  friend  of  the  Confederates,  and,  last  of  all, 
a  Democrat,  of  a  somewhat  Bourbonish  cast. 

He  was,  as  I  have  said,  not  a  bookish  man,  but  I  should 
convey  a  very  false  idea  if  I  led  the  reader  to  suppose  that 
he  did  not  read.  He  read  much,  and  he  read  fast,  and  he 
read  well.  There  were  many  books  he  never  even  dipped 
into,  but  he  knew  of  what  men  talked,  and  of  what  they 
thought,  and  was  prepared  to  take  his  part  in  every  intellect- 
ual tournament,  theologic,  philosophic,  or  scientific.  The 
circle  in  Vineville  was  small  but  bright.  Alfred,  as  he  called 
his  brother-in-law,  was  full  of  sprightly  humor ;  one  who 
read  much,  and  who  thought  much,  and  who  was  ready  of 
speech  ;  Julia,  his  sister,  one  of  the  brightest  of  a  bright 
family,  and  the  quiet  little  wife  and  himself  and  the  children 
made  the  circle.  His  charm  in  the  social  circle  was  only 
equalled  by  his  brilliance  in  public  life. 

The  doctor  lived  in  Columbus,  only  a  hundred  miles  away, 
and  while  there  were  no  railways  then,  it  was  only  a  little  over 
two  days'  travel,  and  he  was  with  the  children  at  Vineville 
more  than  once  during  the  year.  The  delights  of  this  cir- 
cle are  presented  in  an  extract  from  a  letter  of  Dr  Mann's  to 
Dr.  Haygood. 

"  There  were  hours  when  the  dear  old  doctor,  enlivened 
and  animated  by  the  sparkling  wit  and  fun  of  George  and 
Julia,  would  forget  his  usual  solemn  gravity,  and  unlock  the 
storehouse  of  memory,  and,  with  his  small  eyes  merrily 
twinkling,  hugely  entertain  us  with  amusing  incidents  in  his 
early  ministry.  Then,  again,  in  the  absence  of  the  old  man, 
with  the  dear  old  mother  we  would  set  in  on  the  peculiarities 
of  the  father,  and  have  her  convulsed  with  laughter,  and  try- 
ing to  chide  us  for  daring  to  make  fun  of  the  father.     Perhaps 


116  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  ICuAI"-  v- 

never  in  a  family  was  there  more  delicious,  innocent  merri- 
ment." The  delights  of  home  were,  however,  sadly  inter- 
fered with  by  the  troubles  of  the  college.  It  had  been  pro- 
jected on  a  great  scale.  It  had  been  managed  by  a  board  of 
unpaid  and  inexperienced  trustees.  The  financial  crash  had 
come,  and  with  its  coming  some  of  the  best  friends  of  the 
college  had  gone  down.  Emory  College  had  begun  its 
career  in  weakness  and  in  debt.  The  planters  upon  whom 
the  Church  relied  made  cotton  to  sell  at  two  cents  per  pound. 
The  reaction  from  flush  times  had  come  in  reality.  The 
Georgia  Female  College  was  thirty  thousand  dollars  in  debt, 
and  had  nothing  wherewith  to  pay.  It  was  a  new  rule  to 
the  young  preacher,  and  by  no  means  a  pleasant  one.  To 
preach,  to  teach,  to  speak,  he  could  do  that,  but  to  travel 
hither  and  thither  to  raise  money  to  keep  the  college  from 
the  sheriff  was  a  work  uncongenial  and  harassing.  Thestory 
of  his  efforts  to  save  the  college  he  has  not  told.  It  would 
have  been  the  story  of  days  of  worry  and  nights  of  sleepless- 
He  had  a  tender  love  for  the  institution  ;  he  could  not 
see  so  bright  a  promise  blighted.  Once  the  judgment  cred- 
itor brought  the  building  to  sale,  and  he  went  to  Washington, 
Ga.,  where  he  had  some1  wealthy  friends,  and  borrowed  the 
money    and    bought    th  rty.       During    the    year    he 

preached  from  New  York  to  Tallahassee,  Fla.,  in  city  and 
country  and  at  camp-meetings,  and  he  sought  for  help  in 
every  way,  but  at  the  close  of  the  conference  year  surren- 
dered his  disagreeable  office  to  another,  and  entered  again 
upon  the  pastorate. 

He  had  now  been  in  Macon  and  its  vicinity  for  nearly  four 
years,  and  had  preached  over  four  hundred  sermons,  but  no 
man  could  have  been  more  welcome  to  the  pulpit.  Still  it 
was  earnestly  desired  that  he  should  continue  in  the  agency, 
and  the  leaders  of  the  Conference  pleaded  with  him  ;  but  he  was 
firm.  God,  he  said,  had  called  him  to  preach,  not  to  teach, 
or  build  colleges.  He  could  not  consent  to  continue  longer 
where  he  was.  I  regret  I  have  no  record  of  his  work  during 
this  year,  save  the  record  of  his  sermons.     They  show  that 


1840-1841.]         nfe  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  117 

he  preached  nearly  two  hundred  times  during  the  year.  In 
Macon,  in  East  Macon,  at  an  academy  near  the  town  in 
Vineville,  at  private  houses,  wherever  there  was  a  chance  to 
preach,  he  preached.  The  great  business  of  a  preacher  was 
to  preach,  he  thought,  and  preach  he  did,  anywhere  and 
everywhere,  any  time  and  all  the  time.  He  was  invited  to 
deliver  the  address  at  the  Commencement  at  Emory,  which 
he  did.  This  address  has  been  published  in  full  in  his  "  Lect- 
ures and  Addresses."  An  extract  or  two  from  this,  his  first 
distinctively  literary  address,  will  give  an  exhibit  of  views 
to  which  he  held  all  his  life  long.  It  was  delivered  at  Ox- 
ford, July,  1842.  The  subject  of  the  address  was,  "  Learn- 
ing and  Religion."  The  position  he  took  was  that  the  Bible 
and  the  doctrines  of  the  Bible,  as  the  Church  understood 
them,  lay  at  the  base  of  all  proper  culture.  The  whole 
address  was  published  at  the  time  of  its  delivery,  and 
again  in  1852,  at  the  instance  of  the  societies,  republished. 
There  is  only  room  here  for  a  few  extracts.  The  speech 
was  made  in  a  time  of  great  commercial  depression.  He 
says : 

"  But  a  little  while  ago,  the  rabid  lust  of  gold  luxuriated 
in  the  abundance  of  its  treasures,  taxed  winds  and  waves 
and  forests  to  minister  to  its  craving  ;  climbed  mountains, 
crossed  seas,  visited  islands  ;  reaped,  gleaned,  and  garnered  ; 
pulled  down  its  old  barns  and  built  greater  ;  ate  the  lambs  of 
the  flock,  lay  down  upon  beds  of  ivory,  invented  instruments 
of  music,  like  David,  and,  in  the  extravagance  of  its  folly  and 
the  carnival  of  its  delight,  polluted  the  very  vessels  of  the 
sanctuary  with  the  wine  of  its  intoxication  ;  but  now,  stripped, 
bereaved,  forlorn,  it  mourns  in  stupid  grief,  or  raves  in  wild 
insanity,  the  barrenness  of  its  fields,  the  spoliations  of  its  com- 
merce, and  the  bankruptcy  of  all  its  resources  ;  and  even  the 
futurity  of  its  hopes  is  shrouded  in  cheerless,  palpable  gloom. 
Over  society  at  large  degeneracy  has  gone  like  a  wave  of 
ruin.  Law  is  weak  in  its  strongest  arms  ;  morality  is  pros- 
trate ;  politics,  disjoined  from  patriotism,  has  become  a  mere 
strife  of  tongues  ;  the  legislature,  congress,  the  country  alike 


118  Life  (md  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  [Chap.  v. 

one  unvaried  scene  of  change,  licentiousness,  and  tumult. 
Where  is  the  remedy  to  be  found  ? 

"  The  meagre  morality  which  asks  no  better  Bible  than  the 
enactments  of  human  legislatures,  or  the  conventional  codes  of 
fashionable  society,  has  been  the  safeguard  of  character,  and 
the  guardian  of  general  interest. 

"  What  are  the  results?  Public  sentiment  corrupt,  prin- 
ciples sapped,  passions  uncontrolled,  vice  triumphant  ;  the 
wall  has  been  whitened,  but  the  coloring  cannot  conceal  its 
weakness  ;  the  sepulchre  has  been  painted,  but  within  its 
beautiful  exterior  the  worm  has  lived  and  fattened. 

"  And  if  a  Methodist  interpretation  of  the  Bible  be  adopted 
in  a  Methodist  college,  who  ought  to  be  surprised  ?  There  is 
no  deception  ;  the  charter,  the  board  of  trust,  the  name, 
all  proclaim  the  character  of  the  institution.  There  need  be 
no  debate  about  the  right  of  search,  we  ride  upon  the  high 
gage  in  lawful  busin<  y  but  one  flag,  and  fling 

that  to  the  wind  and  the  sunshine  ;  we  neither  impress  nor 
proselyte,  and  if  the  officers  can  make  abiding  friends  of  the 
passengers  by  courtesy  and  usefulness,  who  dare  reproach  us 
with  being  selfish  intriguants."     .      .     . 

irt  of  the  address  was  used  at  the  Bible  meeting  in 
rk  in  1.^44,  and  will  be  found  there.  It  produced  pro- 
found impression,  and  he  stood  firmly  on  his  pedestal  as  the 
first  orator  in  the  State.  For  the  grace  and  force  of  his 
deliver}-  was  not  less  than  the  beaut)'  and  elegance  of  his 
expression,  or  the  elevation  of  his  sentiments. 

It  is  not  possible  to  write  a  satisfactory  life  of  Bishop 
Pierce  and  lose  sight,  for  any  length  of  time,  of  the  Confer- 
ence with  which  he  was  connected.  He  was  devoted  to  the 
connection.  He  recognized  it  as  a  Christian  brotherhood,  a 
community  of  consecrated  men  whose  lives  were  given  to 
God  for  the  service  of  humanity.  He  gave  himself  unre- 
servedly to  it.  No  Jesuit,  with  the  vows  of  his  society  upon 
him,  was  ever  more  entirely  devoted  to  his  order  than  young 


1840-1841.]         nfe  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  119 

Pierce  to  his  Conference.  He  had  not  entered  it  to  be  ad- 
vanced in  station  and  enriched  in  worldly  goods,  but  to  serve 
his  Lord  more  faithfully.  He  concerned  himself  with  all 
that  concerned  His  interests.  He  looked  upon  the  Conference, 
as  he  looked  upon  the  Church,  as  merely  an  instrument  ;  but 
it  was  an  important  one  and  he  was  profoundly  interested  in 
all  it  proposed  to  do  for  the  general  good.  New  adjustments 
to  changes  in  Society  were  now  demanded  and  must  be  met, 
and  the  Church  was  trying  to  meet  them.  Mr.  Pierce  was 
progressive  and  was  in  full  sympathy  with  this  spirit.  The 
demand  for  higher  education  became  imperative.  The  State 
was  growing  in  wealth  and  population  ;  where  the  Indian  tribes 
had  hunted  deer  in  Mr.  Pierce's  young  manhood,  flourish- 
ing cities  had  sprung  up.  The  Church  felt  the  importance  of 
directing  this  work  of  education  among  the  people,  and  the 
Manual  Labor  School  had  been  established  near  Covington. 
Ten  thousand  dollars  had  been  given  to  Randolph  Macon 
in  Virginia,  and  now  Emory  College  had  been  established, 
and  the  Georgia  Female  College  had  been  placed  under  the 
patronage  of  the  Conference.  There  were  at  this  time  over 
a  dozen  college  graduates  in  the  ranks  of  the  Confer- 
ence. The  circuits  were  reduced  in  size,  the  larger  towns 
were  placed  in  stations,  or  half  stations,  and  had  preaching 
from  the  circuit  preacher  more  frequently  than  once  a  month. 
Better  churches  were  being  built,  even  one  brick  church  had 
been  erected  in  Culloden  and  one  in  Scriven  County.  The 
Church  had  broadened  her  views  and.  mere  form  was  less 
stressed  ;  the  wearing  of  a  ruffle  was  not  recognized  as  a  cer- 
tain fall  from  grace,  and  the  young  preachers  who  refused  to 
wear  the  white  handkerchief  around  the  neck  and  the  straight- 
breasted  coat  were  not  counted  as  heretics.  There  was  less 
severity  in  executing  discipline,  and  more  tolerance  for  dif- 
ferences of  opinion.  In  all  these  advanced  movements  Mr. 
Pierce  was  found.  He  was  a  conservative  in  so  far  as  all  the 
essentials  were  concerned,  but  not  a  conservative  when  in- 
different matters  were  involved.  He  was  recognized  early  as 
a  leader,  and  he  led.     It  could  scarcely  be  expected  that  these 


120  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  [Chap.  v. 

changes  could  come  about  without  some  friction,  and  this  lead- 
ership should  have  been  at  once  accepted.  The  Pierce  part}-, 
as  it  was  called,  it  is  due  to  the  truth  of  the  history  to  say,  was 
sometimes  antagonized.  Good  men  thought  they  were  going 
too  fast  ;  others,  jealous,  perhaps,  of  the  position  held  by 
them,  were  disposed  to  strike  against  the  rule  of  their  ideas, 
because  of  this  personal  feeling.  But  this  jealousy,  these  an- 
tagonisms, which  were  natural,  did  not  amount  to  anything 
of  a  serious  character  ;  and  as  George,  for  so  the  preachers 
called  him,  was  not  rarely  found  in  the  opposition  to  his 
father,  and  as  his  zeal  and  devotion  to  the  work  were  unques- 
tionable, and  as  his  willingness  to  take  whatever  work  came  to 
him  was  known  to.  all,  he  disarmed  all  prejudice.  At  the  Con- 
ference in  1842  he  was  removed  from  Macon  and  sent  to 
Augusta.  To  leave  Vineville  at  the  end  of  his  year  on  the 
Macon  station  required  quite  a  sacrifice  of  interests,  but  he 
made  it  and  went  to  his  new  home. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

THE  PASTORATE   AGAIN,  AUGUSTA,  1843-1844,  AGED  32-33. 

Augusta — New  Church — Elected  Delegate  to  the  General  Conference — 
The  Great  Debate— Mr.  Pierce's  Speech— The  Bible  Meeting— The 
Bible  Speech. 

Had  Mr.  Pierce  consulted  his  own  preferences  he  would  not 
have  removed  from  the  centre  of  the  State  to  its  eastern  bor- 
der ;  he  would  have  greatly  preferred  a  district  or  even  a 
large  circuit  near  by  Vineville  to  a  station.  He  had  been  in 
Augusta  a  great  deal ;  he  was  there  as  junior  preacher,  as  pas- 
tor, and  as  presiding  elder  ;  he  had  never  worked  in  the 
western  part  of  the  State.  He  had  just  located  his  family  ;  to 
move  was  difficult,  expensive,  and  apparently  unnecessary;  to 
be  required  to  break  up,  after  only  two  years  of  home  resi- 
dence, was  to  lose  a  good  deal,  and  this  loss  he  was  not  well 
able  to  bear  ;  but  it  was  a  fixed  rule  with  him  to  obey  Church 
orders  without  a  question.  He  believed  in  having  a  home. 
He  wanted  every  preacher  to  have  one  who  could  do  so ;  but 
he  as  fully  believed  in  letting  nothing  stand  in  the  way  of  a 
man's  duty  to  the  Church.  Augusta  Methodism  was  some- 
what languishing  ;  it  needed  a  new  house  of  worship  ; 
the  membership  of  the  Church  was  but  little  more  in  1843 
then  when  he  left  in  1836,  and  that  little  had  been  gained  but 
recently  ;  there  was  a  want  of  harmony  among  the  members, 
which  the  presiding  elder  and  the  bishop  thought  could  only 
be  overcome  by  sending  Mr.  Pierce  to  the  station.  Always 
ready  to  obey,  he  sold  down,  as  he  said,  to  the  last  teaspoon, 
and  selling  his  home  in  Vineville  he  took  his  family  and  his 
books  and  removed  to  Augusta  by  private  conveyance.  The 
new  church  must  be  built,  and  as  it  was  to  be  placed  on  the 


L22  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.         tO^»<  w 

spot  occupied  by  the  parsonage,  he  removed  his  family  to  a 
rented  building  near  the  City  Hall,  and  the  new  church  was 
begun  soon  after  he  came.  To  Mr.  Pierce  a  Methodist  church 
was  a  preaching  house  ;  it  was  to  be  roomy,  well  ventilated, 
with  a  targe  chancel,  and  with  a  preacher  as  close  as  possible 
to  his  hearers.  Perhaps  DO  two  churches  were  ever  mure  im- 
pliedly alike,  and  yet  mure  alike  in  design  than  Plymouth 
Church,  Brooklyn,  and  the  St.  John's  Church  in  Augusta. 
Tasteful,  substantial,  commodious,  well  proportioned,  it  was 
•  enough  to  hold  a  great  congregation,  and  when  he  preach- 
ed it  was  full.  While  it  was  being  erected  he  preached  in  the 
old  church.  He  preached  three  times  on  each  Sunday  and 
once  during  the  week.  During  the  month  of  May  lie  preach- 
ed in  the  Augusta  Church  nineteen  times,  in  the  Colored 
Church  twice,  and  in  Hamburg  and  Bethesda  each  once. 
He  had  no  protracted  meeting.  He  had  little  fancy  for  these 
extraordinary  movements  ;  his  plan  was  to  preach  four  times 

a  week,  and  expect   results   every   lime   he   pleached,  and   he 

had  them.     Hi-  summer  nt  entirely  in  the  city,  with 

the  exception  <>f  a  vi-it  to  the  camp  m  ■  n n <  1  about. 

At  the  Conference  in  December,    1843,  he  was  elected 

delegate  tOtl  ral  Conference  which  was  to  meet  in  May, 

;.  receiving  the  largest  vote  cast.     He  headed  a  delegation 

COmpOS<  F.    Pierce,    William  J.    Parks,    Lovick 

Pierce,  Jan  nd  Augustus  B.  Longstreet ;  and 

that  he  might  feel  easy  in  leaving  his  charge  for  so  Ion 
time,  Jackson  Turner  was  sent  to  assist  him  on  the  station. 
He  visited  his  old  mother  in  Columbus  in  January,  going 
by  way  of  Savannah,  and  returned  to  Augusta  by  February 
4th.  He  still  preached  three  times  on  each  Sunday,  and 
shared  with  his  young  colleague  in  the  work,  preaching  to  the 
colored  people.  He  always  enjoyed  preaching  to  them,  and 
they  were  always  glad  to  hear  him.  He  left  for  New  York 
early  in  May,  and  reached  the  seat  of  the  General  Conference 
soon  in  the  session. 

It  is  not  my  office  to  do  more  here  than  give  a  glimpse  of 
the  Conference,  the  most  eventful  in  our  history,  and  of  its 


1843-1844.]  nfe  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  123 

work.  In  the  "  Life  of  Bishop  Andrew  "  I  have  tried  to  give  a 
full,  impartial,  and  satisfactory  account  of  it.  Four  years  be- 
fore Mr.  Pierce  had  seen  that  the  slavery  question  was  going 
to  be  unmanageable.  He  thought  then  that  division  in  the 
Church  was  inevitable,  and  he  was  not  at  all  surprised  at  the 
turn  the  affair  took  in  1844.  He  had  anticipated  what  came, 
and  perhaps  laid  the  blame  at  the  wrong  door  and  may  have 
suggested  the  wrong  remedy,  for  he  believed  New  England 
caused  all  the  mischief  and  that  if  she  was  out  of  the  way  har- 
mony could  be  restored.  In  order  to  get  a  view  of  Mr.  Pierce's 
position,  at  the  risk  of  repeating  what  has  been  frequently 
told,  it  will  be  needful  for  me  to  give  a  short  history  of  the 
condition  of  affairs  in  1844.  Bishop  Andrew  had  become 
virtually  a  slave-holder  by  his  marriage  with  Mrs.  Greenwood 
and  by  a  bequest  to  him  of  two  slaves.  There  was  much 
feeling  aroused  by  this  fact  when  it  was  known.  He  wished  to 
resign  in  order  to  peace,  but  the  Southern  delegates  insisted 
that  he  should  not  do  so.  His  Episcopal  character  was  arrest- 
ed, because  of  the  charge  that  he  was  a  slaveholder.  He 
made  an  explanation  of  how  he  became  one,  and  threw  him- 
self on  his  reserved  rights  as  protected  by  law.  After  sundry 
efforts  to  harmonize  matters,  and  after  as  many  failures,  a 
resolution  was  introduced  by  Rev.  J.  B.  Finley,  of  Ohio, 
known  as  the  Finley  substitute,  which  was  simply,  in  substance, 
that  Bishop  Andrew  should  desist  from  the  exercise  of  the 
office  of  bishop  as  long  as  the  impediment  (of  slave-holding, 
as  it  existed  in  his  case)  remained,  which  was  a  virtual  deposi- 
tion. The  debate  had  gone  on  in  the  main  courteously,  when 
a  Mr.  Cass,  a  delegate  from  the  New  Hampshire  Conference, 
made  a  speech  which  was  an  outrage  upon  all  decency.  The 
closing  passage  of  his  speech  is  but  a  specimen  paragraph  of 
the  whole  :  "Men-buyers  are  exactly  on  a  level  with  men- 
stealers.  But  perhaps  you  will  say,  '  I  do  not  buy  any 
negroes,  I  only  use  those  left  me  by  my  father.'  So  far,  very 
good.  Had  your  father,  have  you,  has  any  man  living,  a  right 
to  use  another  as  a  slave  ?  I  absolutely  deny  all  slave-holding 
to  be  consistent  with  any  degree  of  justice." 


124  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  [ClIAP-  VL 

The  journal  says:  "Mr.  G.  F.  Pierce  then  arose  to 
speak." 

He  was  now  thirty-three  years  old.  He  was  a  born  ruler 
of  men,  and  bore  the  kingly  look  on  his  face.  His  form  had 
developed  until  he  weighed  one  hundred  and  eighty  pounds, 
and   while  so  young,  he  bcre  the  aspect  of  a  man  of  greater 

rs.  His  whole  heart  was  in  this  matter.  He  was  intensely 
indignant  and  thoroughly  roused.  He  was  a  man  of  fierce  nat- 
ure, and,  although  grace  had  subdued  his  temper,  the  fires  were 
there  still  and  he  was  entirely  devoid  of  fear.  Bishop  Andrew 
was  his  dearest  earthly  friend  ;  he  had  heard  him  censured,  be- 
littled, and  ridiculed  by  some  ;  and  even  when  he  was  praised 
by  those  who  spoke,  no  voice  from  the  North  was  raised  for 
what  Mr.  Pierce  thought  was  simple  justice  to  him.  Then  the 
whole  South  was  struck  by  the  blow  aimed  at  Hishop  An- 
drew. No  Southern  man,  however  gifted,  however  useful, 
however  pure,  could  be  chosen  a  bishop  after  this  if,  by  any 
complication  whatever,  he  had  become  involved  in  the  virtual 
ownership  of  a  kind  of  property  that  members  of  the  Church 
had  held  from  the  days  of  Abraham.  lie  rose  to  reply  to  Mr. 
The  excitement  was  intense,  the  house  was  crowded. 
11  •  was  recognized  on  all  sides  as  one  of  the  most  eloquent 
men  of  the  Conference,  and  expectation  was  high.  lie  spoke, 
says  the  journal,  as  follows  : 

"  I  speak  from  convictions  of  duty,  and  not  because  I  ex- 
pect to  change  the  opinion  of  any  man  before  us  ;  nor  would 
I  presume,  as  some  have  done,  that  there  will  be  in  the  course 
of  my  remarks  the  evolution  of  any  new  light.  I  do  not,  sir, 
feel  a  great  deal  of  solicitude  about  the  issue  of  the  case,  and 
my  solicitude  is  diminished  because  I  regard  the  great  ques- 
tion of  unity  as  settled  by  the  previous  action  of  the  Confer- 
ence in  another  case  ;  but  I  desire  to  animadvert  very  briefly 
on  one  or  two  points  as  connected  with  the  manner  in  which 
the  question  has  been  considered.  The  brethren  who  have 
spoken  on  the  other  side  of  the  question,  many  of  them,  have- 
adopted  a  trick  of  oratory,  a  sort  of  legerdemain  in  debate, 
which  is  this  :     They  state  abstract  propositions  of  right  which 


/843-1844.]         [jfe  anci  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  125 

no  man  will  pretend  to  deny,  and  then  deduce  elaborate  argu- 
mentations and  make  them  bear  on  conclusions  with  which 
these  conclusions  have  no  more  to  do  than  the  law  of  tides 
has  with  the  polar  star.  But  the  design  is  very  obvious. 
The  idea  is  more  readily  adopted,  the  conviction  more  read- 
ily embraced,  because  it  falls  in  with  preconceived  opinions 
and  long-established  prejudices.  There  is  no  logical  connec- 
tion between  the  premises  and  the  arguments  which  have 
been  advanced  here.  Things  are  put  in  opposition  which 
have  no  relation  to  each  other.  Sir,  there  has  been,  in  every 
speech  which  has  been  made  on  the  other  side  of  the  question, 
a  false  issue  attempted.  Whatever  may  be  affirmed  of  ex- 
pediency, and  of  the  disqualification  of  Bishop  Andrew  for 
the  office  of  General  Superintendent,  in  view  of  the  cir- 
cumstances over  which  it  is  declared,  brethren  have  no 
control ;  it  is  not  to  be  forgotten  nor  disguised  that  this  is  not 
an  abstract  but  a  practical  question ;  that  it  involves  the  con- 
stitutional rights  and  equality  of  privileges  belonging  to 
Southern  ministers.  It  is  a  practical  question,  too,  which  can- 
not be  set  off  from  its  connection  with  the  past  and  its  bear- 
ings on  the  future.  It  is  part  and  parcel  of  a  system  slowly 
developed,  it  may  be,  yet  obvious  in  its  design,  which  is  to 
deprive  Southern  ministers  of  their  rights  and  to  disfranchise 
the  whole  Southern  Church.  You  cannot  take  the  question 
out  of  its  relations.  It  cannot  be  made  to  stand,  as  breth- 
ren have  tried  to  make  it  stand,  isolated  and  alone.  If 
there  had  been  no  memorials  on  your  table  praying  for 
the  establishment  of  a  law  of  proscription,  if  there  had  not 
been  declared,  over  and  over  again,  a  settled  purpose — 
if  not  in  unequivocal  terms,  yet  in  unequivocal  acts — to 
work  out  the  destruction  of  this  evil  and  to  free  the  Episco- 
pacy and  the  Church  itself  from  this  evil,  the  question  before 
us  would  be  different  in  its  aspects,  and  the  action  of  the  South 
in  regard  to  it  might  be  modified  accordingly.  I  beg  this 
Conference  to  consider  this  question  in  the  light  of  its  con- 
nection with  the  previous  action  in  the  case  of  the  appeal 
from  the  Baltimore  Conference.      Sir,  the  preposterous  doc- 


126  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  [Chap.  vi. 

trine  was  asserted  in  that  Conference  that  its  purposes  and 
usages  are  paramount  to  the  law  of  the  land,  and  the  doctrine 
of  that  Conference  has  been  affirmed  here.  Sir,  the  action  of 
that  Conference  has  brought  the  whole  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church  into  a  position  of  antagonism  to  the  laws  of  the 
land.  I  consider  such  action  not  only  an  outrage  on  the  com- 
mon justice  of  the  case,  but  decidedly  revolutionary  in  its 
movements,  and  destined  to  affect,  unless  repealed,  the  char- 
acter of  the  Conference  and  all  the  ramifications  of  the 
Church.  What  is  the  position  ?  The  ground  taken  then, 
and  here — the  Church,  the  Bible  and  the  Discipline,  and  the 
<if  the  land  to  the  contrary  notwithstanding— is  that  we 
have  a  ri;_dit  to  make  a  man's  membership  depend  on  the  con- 
dition of  his  doing  a  thing  which,  as  a  citizen  of  a  State,  he 
has  no  power  or  right  to  do.  The  act  which  is  proposed  in 
the  resolution  is  a  part  and  parcel  of  the  whole  affair. 
Whether  Bishop  Andrew  has  been  invited  to  resign,  or  desist 
from  the  exercise  of  his  official  functions,  or  is  impeached,  or 
deposed,  it  ought  to  be,  and  can  be,  considered  neither  more 
nor   less  than  collateral,   in  'tis  and  effects,  with  the 

action  of  the  Conference  in  the  case  to  which  I  have  referred. 
This  is  a  practical  question,  make  what  disclaimers  you  please, 

tny  amount  of  them.  The  common-sense  of  the  country 
will  consider  it  as  an  infraction  of  the  constitutional,  or,  if 
you  please,  the  disciplinary  rights  of  the  Southern  brethren, 
however  it  may  be  considered  by  those,  the  so  styled  more 
favored  and  less  encumbered  portions  of  the  Union. 

"The  argument  for  expediency,  I  am  compelled  to  be- 
,lieve,  has  not  half  the  force  assigned  to  it ;  I  think  I  speak- 
advisedly  when  I  say  that,  whatsoever  effect  the  passing  of 
Bishop  Andrew's  character  without  censure,  or  laying  the 
whole  business  on  the  table,  might  have  with  the  New  Eng- 
land Conferences,  I  am  not  prepared  to  believe  that  any 
considerable  damage  would  be  done  in  the  Middle  Confer- 
ences. I  do  not  believe  the  people  of  New  York  would 
decline  to  receive  Bishop  Andrew  for  their  bishop.  I  do 
not  believe   he   would   be  objected  to  in    the   New   Jersey, 


1843-1844.]  iife  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  Ill 

Pennsylvania,  Maryland,  or  any  of  the  Conferences  of  the 
Western  States.  The  difficulties  are  with  the  New  Engend- 
ers. They  are  making  all  this  difficulty,  and  may  be  describ- 
ed, in  the  language  of  Paul,  as  intermeddlers  in  other  men's 
matters.  I  will  allow,  as  it  has  been  affirmed  again  and  again, 
that  there  may  be  secession,  societies  broken  up,  conferences 
split,  and  immense  damage  of  this  sort  done  within  the  New 
England  Conferences  ;  and  I  speak  soberly,  advisedly,  when 
I  say  I  prefer  that  all  New  England  should  secede,  or  be  set 
off,  and  have  her  share  of  Church  property.  I  infinitely  pre- 
fer that  they  should  go,  rather  than  that  this  General  Confer- 
ence should  proceed  to  make  this  ruthless  invasion  upon 
the  connectional  union  and  the  integrity  of  the  Church.  Let 
New  England  go,  with  all  my  heart.  She  has  been,  for  the 
last  twenty  years,  a  thorn  in  the  flesh,  a  messenger  of  Satan, 
to  buffet  us  ;  let  her  go,  and  joy  go  with  her,  and  peace  will 
stay  behind.  The  Southern  Church  has  nothing  to  fear,  and 
she  has  nothing  to  ask,  on  this  subject.  As  far  as  we  are 
concerned,  sir,  the  greatest  blessing  that  could  befall  us 
would  be  a  division  of  this  union.  There,  sir,  at  the  South, 
we  dwell  in  peace,  and  the  Good  Shepherd  watches  the  flock 
and  guards  us  from  all  harm.  There  are  no  jarring  strings, 
no  discordant  sounds,  no  incarnate  emissaries  of  the  Evil  One 
going  about  seeking  whom  they  may  devour  ;  but  there  we 
lie  down  beside  the  still  waters.  If  we  had  not  the  spirit  of 
the  Master,  if  we  were  selfish  enough  to  enjoy  the  bounty  of 
our  heritage,  we  would  court  division,  pray  for  it,  demand  it. . 
But,  sir,  I  will  present  one  view  of  this  question  which  has 
not  yet  been  touched  upon.  Set  off  the  South,  and  what  is 
the  consequence  ?  Do  you  get  rid  of  embarrassment,  dis- 
cord, divisions,  strife?  No,  sir;  you  multiply  divisions. 
There  will  be  secessions  in  the  Northern  Conferences,  even  if 
Bishop  Andrew  is  deposed,  or  resigns.  Prominent  men  will 
abandon  your  Church.  I  venture  to  predict  that  when  the 
day  of  division  comes,  and  come  I  believe  it  will,  from,  the 
present  aspect  of  the  case,  that  in  ten  years  from  this  day, 
and  perhaps  less,  there  will  not  be  one  shred  of  the  peculi- 


L28  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  [Ohap.  vi. 

arities  of  Methodism  left  in  the  bodies  which  withdraw  from 
us.  The  venerable  man  who  now  presides  over  the  Northern 
Conferences  may  live  out  his  time  as  bishop,  but  he  will 
never  have  a  successor. 

"  Episcopacy  will  be  given  up,  presiding  eldership  will  be 
given  up,  the  itinerancy  will  come  to  an  end,  and  Congrega- 
tionalism will  be  the  order  of  the  day.  The  people  will 
choose  their  own  pastors,  and  preachers  will  be  standing 
about  the  ecclesiastical  market-places,  and  when  men  shall  ask, 
•  Why  stand  ye  here  all  the  day  idle  ?  '  the  answer  will  be, 
'  Because  no  man  hath  hired  us.'  We  have  unity  and  peace, 
and  seek  it  because  of  its  effects  on  the  connection,  and  I  be- 
lieve to-day  that,  if  the  New  Kngland  Conferences  were  to 
secede,  the  rest  of  us  would  have  peace.  Sir,  I  object  to  the 
substitute  for  another  reason  ;  I  would  have  preferred  the 
original  resolution.  The  substitute  presents  a  most  anoma- 
lous view  of  the  whole  subject.  Suppose  that  view  is  adopted, 
what  is  it?  What  do  you  ^\o  with  the  bishop?  You  cannot 
put  him  on  a  circuit  or  station.  He  i-  a  bishop  in  duress,  i 
bishop  in  prison  bounds,  an  anomaly,  a  fifth  wheel  in  the  ma- 
chine of  Methodism,  doomed  to  live  on  the  Book  Concern, 
while  no  provision  i-  made  for  his  rendering  the  Church  any 
service  if  this  resolution  is  adopted.  I  promise  not  to  detain 
you  long,  for  others  are  wishing  to  speak,  but  I  felt  that  I 
could  not  go  home  satisfied  unless  I  took  this  occasion  to  make 
a  few  remarks. 

"  If  I  did  not  know  there  were  others  better  qualified  to  de- 
fend this  subject,  I  would  trespass  on  the  patience  of  this 
Conference  by  the  hour.  I  tell  you,  then,  unless  Bishop  An- 
drew is  passed  free  of  any  censure,  the  days  of  Methodist  uni- 
ty are  numbered.  What  do  brethren  mean,  when  they  come 
here  and  eulogize  him,  as  they  have  done  ?  It  has  been 
avowed  that  he  is  a  blameless  man,  pure  and  spotless,  that  he 
has  high  executive  talents,  that  he  is  one  of  the  most  efficient 
administrators  of  law,  that  he  is  as  well  qualified  for  this 
as  any  of  the  worthy  men  who  occupy  the  Episcopal  bench  ; 
yet,  in  the  face  of  this,  is  the  Conference  to  come  out  and  say 


1848-184*.]  iife  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  129 

that,  on  the  question  of  expediency,  he  shall  resign,  refrain 
from  the  exercise  of  his  office,  or  be  deposed  ?  What  mean 
these  eulogies  ?  Are  brethren  in  earnest  ?  Is  the  Conference 
heaping  garlands  on  the  victim  they  design  to  slaughter  ? 
Has  it  come  to  this,  that  a  large  body  of  sober  and  reverent 
men,  in  the  face  of  their  own  acknowledgment  of  blamelessness, 
are  going  to  inflict  one  of  the  severest  penalties  on  an  inno- 
cent man  ?  Will  you  offer  him  up  to  appease  that  foul  spirit 
of  the  pit,  which  has  sent  up  its  pestilential  breath  to  blast 
and  destroy  the  Church?  You  have  unchained  the  lion,  and, 
now  that  he  is  raging,  you  select  a  venerable  bishop,  one  of 
the  ablest  and  best  of  the  whole  college,  to  immolate  him  on 
the  altar  of  this  juggernaut  of  perdition.  Think  you  we 
will  sit  here  and  see  this  go  on  without  lifting  a  voice,  or 
making  a  protest  against  it  ?  Are  we  to  see  this  noble  man 
sacrificed  for  the  sake  of  New  England  ?  God  forbid  it  ! 
God  forbid,  I  say,  and  I  speak  it  from  the  depths  of  my  heart. 

"  Brethren  may  say  what  they  please,  disclaim  what  they 
please,  eulogize  as  they  will,  they  cannot  make  anything  of  this 
but  the  deprivation  of  a  constitutional  right.  In  the  case  of 
the  appeal  from  the  Baltimore  Conference,  many  voted  not 
because  they  believed  the  Conference  had  done  right,  but  for 
extraneous  reasons  ;  but  in  this  question  the  vote  goes  out  on 
its  naked  merits,  irrespective  of  any  disclaimer  in  reference  to 
the  bishop's  rights,  character,  or  capacity.  But,  to  come  to  the 
point,  has  he  the  right  to  hold  slaves,  under  the  Discipline  of 
the  Church  ?  If  he  has,  I  adjure  you  not  to  lay  violent  hands 
upon  him  ;  if  he  has,  I  ask  brethren  to  pause,  and  say  if,  in  the 
prospect  of  facing  a  scrutinizing  world,  they  can  go  out  with 
the  stinging  recollection  in  their  hearts  that  they  have  sacri- 
ficed a  man  worthy  to  preside  over  them  to  the  reckless  de- 
mands of  an  arrogant  and  insatiable  spirit  of  abolition.  I  do 
hope  brethren  will  pause  before  they  drive  us  to  the  fearful 
catastrophe,  now  earnestly  to  be  deprecated,  and  inevitable  if 
they  proceed." 

Judge    Longstreet,    following,  made   a   characteristic  and 
exhaustive  argument,  and  he  was  followed  by  Mr.  Jesse  T, 
9 


130 


Life  and  Timrs  of  George  F.  Pierce.         [Ohap.  vl 


Peck.  Perhaps  there  was  never  a  greater  contrast  in  two 
men  than  in  the  young  Georgian  and  the  young  New  Yorker. 
Mr.  Peck  was  very  portly,  and  very  bald  ;  he  was  very  bland, 
and  very  patronizing  ;  he  was  about  the  same  age  of  Mr. 
Pierce,  who  was  only  about  thirty-three. 

Among  other  things,  he  said  : 

"  I  understood  him  to  say  that  we  had  done  this  by  stat- 


KKV.    JKSSI.    T      I'Ki   K,    D.l> 


ing  self-evident  propositions,  and  then  forthwith  deducing 
conclusions  from  them  that  had  no  more  connection  with 
them  than  the  law  of  the  tides  had  on  the  pole-star.  If  he 
had  taken  the  trouble  to  point  out  some  instances  of  this,  I 
could  have  given  it  the  attention  due  to  reasoning,  but  as  he 
was  not  pleased  to  do  so,  and  as  he  is  an  educated  man,  he 
will  doubtless  be  satisfied  by  my  giving  him  credit  for  a 
beautiful  declamation.  ....... 


1843-1844.]         Life  an£i  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  131 

"  But,  the  reverend  gentleman  proceeded,  'They  are  busy- 
bodies  in  other  men's  matters,  a  thorn  in  the  flesh,  a  mes- 
senger of  Satan  to  buffet  us,'  and  alluding,  as  I  understood 
him  to  do,  to  a  certain  movement  in  New  England,  and  cer- 
tain principles  upon  which  that  movement  was  based,  he 
called  it,  '  The  foul  spirit  of  the  pit,  the  juggernaut  of 
perdition.'  Upon  this  language  I  may  not  remark  ;  I  must 
of  necessity  leave  it  without  animadversion,  but,  with  the 
utmost  respect,  this  dear  brother  will  excuse  me  for  saying 
I  much  prefer  the  terms  used  by  some  of  his  highly  re- 
spected associates.  I  hope  the  brother  will  not  use  it  again, 
and  certainly  not  on  the  floor  of  this  General  Conference. 
But  my  friend  from  the  Georgia  Conference  says :  '  Let  New 
England  go  ;  I  wish  in  my  heart  she  would  secede,  and  joy  go 
with  her,  for  I  am  sure  she  will  leave  peace  behind  her.' 
Let  New  England  go  !  I  cannot  forget  the  exclamation,  it 
vibrates  on  my  soul  in  tones  of  grating  discord." 

The  fatherly,  pious,  patronizing  tone  of  the  young  man 
was  exasperating.  There  was  no  anger  in  the  heart  of  the 
young  Georgian,  but  there  was  a  flame  of  indignation,  and 
when  Mr.  Peck  took  his  seat,  which  he  did  with  great  com- 
placency of  expression,  and  as  he  sat  fanning  himself  with  a 
large  fan,  Mr.  Pierce  rose  to  explain.      He  said  : 

"  That  he  should  be  very  glad  to  reply  at  length,  but,  as 
he  spoke  by  courtesy  and  not  by  right,  he  would  confine 
himself  to  explanation.  He  observed  that  he  was  exceed- 
ingly startled  by  the  proposition  of  Brother  Peck,  that  a 
bishop  had  no  constitutional  right  to  be  a  bishop.  He  had 
always  understood  that,  when  a  man  is  legitimately  appointed 
to  office,  he  has  a  constitutional  right  to  that  office  for  the 
whole  term — that  he  cannot  be  ejected  unless  he  has  been  in 
fault.  As  to  the  perhaps  unfortunate  expression  which  he 
yesterday  made  use  of  toward  New  England,  some  apology 
might  be  due,  but  on  the  whole  he  would  not  regret  it,  as  it 
had  afforded  his  honored  brother  such  a  theatre  for  display- 
ing his  peculiar  talents.  He  intended  to  say  that  for  New 
England  to  secede,  or  to  be  set  off  with  a  pro  rata  division  of 


132  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  [<'m.vi» .  vx 

the  property,  would  be  a  light  evil  compared  to  the  immola- 
tion of  Bishop  Andrew  on  the  altar  of  a  psuedo-expediency. 
He  meant  that  the  loss  of  New  England  was  as  the  dust  in 
the  balance  compared  with  such  a  gross,  palpable,  unjust, 
outrageous  violation  of  law.  He  intended  to  convey  the 
idea  that  the  great  head  of  the  Church  did  not  require  the 
sacrifice  of  an  innocent,  unoffending  man,  for  the  sake  of 
maintaining  peace  and  order  in  the  Church.  The  Church  re- 
quired no  such  sacrifice  for  her  unity  or  her  character.  As 
to  the  unkind  epithets  to  which  the  brother  referred,  he  wished 
to  be  understood  not  as  having  applied  them  to  New  Eng- 
land, but  to  abolition  and  its  misguided  abettors.  If  New 
England  was  engaged  in  this  unhallowed  war  on  the  South 
and  on  Southern  institutions,  then  he  meant  New  England  ; 
if  not,  he  would  be  understood  otherwise.  He  intended  no 
disrespect  to  New  England.  He  would  cheerfully  acknowl- 
edge, because  he  honestly  believed  it,  in  accordance  with  the 
views  so  eloquently  expressed  by  the  brother  \\h<>  had  pre- 
ceded him,  that  there  were  many  noble  souls  from  New  Eng- 
land ;  as  the  last  speaker  had  referred  to  Bishop  Soule,  he 
hoped  he  should  be  permitted  to  say  that  from  his  father's 
representations  he  had  learned  to  admire  him  before  he  saw 
him,  and  acquaintance  had  ripened  admiration  into  reverence. 
There  was  an  honored  representative  from  the  New  York 
Conference  (Dr.  Olin)  who  favored  the  Conference  with  his 
opinions  a  few  days  ago,  whom  he  loved  from  his  early  boy- 
hood and  never  more  than  now,  and  he  took  this  occasion  to 
assure  him  that,  whatever  might  be  his  vote  on  this  trying 
question,  he  would  still  remain  enshrined  in  the  fervid  affec- 
tions of  a  heart  too  warm  to  speak  prudently  on  an  occasion 
like  this.  And,  sir,  I  recognize  you,"  addressing  Mr.  Peck, 
"  as  a  man  with  a  soul  in  your  body,  warm,  generous,  glow- 
ing. I  admire  your  spirit,  your  genius.  The  beauty  of  the 
bud  gives  promise  of  a  luscious  blossom,  the  early  beams 
foretell  a  glorious  noon.  And  now,  sir,  though  my  speech 
shocked  your  nerves  so  badly,  I  trust  my  explanation  will 
not  ruffle  a  hair  on  the  crown  of  your  head." 


1843-1844.]         Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce. 


133 


Mr.  Peck  had  thrown  his  fan  up  to  his  face  as  if  to  shield 
himself  from  a  severe  blow.  The  burst  of  laughter  which 
followed,  as  men  looked  at  the  shining,  hairless  scalp,  was 
sufficient  to  restore  good  humor. 

So  closed  Mr.  Pierce's  part  in  the  greatest  debate  of 
Methodism.  The  results  all  men  know  ;  Bishop  Andrew  was 
virtually  deposed,  and  the  Church  was  divided. 


REV.    S.    OLIN,    D.D. 


While  Mr.  Pierce  was  in  New  York  the  American  Bible 
Society,  for  which  his  father  was  agent,  held  its  annual  meet- 
ing. The  General  Conference,  and  a  large  assemblage  of  the 
most  gifted  men  of  all  the  churches,  attended.  Mr.  Pierce  was 
invited  to  take  part  in  the  exercises,  and  delivered  one  of 
the  speeches.  Not  since  John  Summerfield  had  made  his  cele- 
brated speech  on  a  like  occasion  had  any  Methodist  preacher 
made  so  profound  an  impression. 

The  Rev.  William  Martin  writes  of  it:  "I  heard  him  in 


134  Life  aiui  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  [<'nu-.  vi 

1844,  before  the  American  Bible  Society,  when  Freeling- 
huysen,  Lord  Ketchum,  and  other  distinguished  men  of  the 
nation  were  the  speakers,  and  from  every  indication,  intense 
attention,  frequent,  loud,  and  long-continued  applause,  to- 
gether with  the  many  enthusiastic  expressions  I  heard,  the 
young  Georgia  Methodist  preacher  surpassed  them  all." 

A  partial  report  is  all  we  have,  and  probably  all  that  re- 
mains, of  this  remarkable  speech. 

•'  If."  aid  Mr.  Pierce,  "  the  universal  success  of  the  Bible 
cause,  the  realization  of  the  most  sanguine  wish  of  the  most 
devoted  adherent,  depended  upon  the  establishment  of  this 
truth,  we  might  consume  the  hours  of  this  anniversary  in 
congratulatory  addresses  and  antedate  the  joys  of  a  victory 
wide  as  the  world  and  stable  as  the  pillars  of  heaven.  If  the 
propriety  of  the  sentiment,  the  convictions  of  its  justice  and 
truth,  were  the  pled;  alas  unwearied  a.-,  its  importance 

demands  and  of  an  enterprise  commensurate  with  its  value, 
then,  sir,  you  would  have  nothing  now  to  do  but  to  regulate 
your  appropriations  and  direct  your  future  movements.  But, 
sir,    human  nature  is   made  up  (if  Mich  contradictory  impul 

that  conscience  is  sometimes  powerless  when  truth  is  cl< 

and  the  purest  minds  must  needs  be  stirred  by  way  of  remem- 
brance." 

Mr.  Tierce  then  proceeded  to  comment  upon  the  follow- 
ing points:  "That  the  Bible,  after  prolonged  research,  has 
been  admitted  to  be  divine,  by  the  consent  of  the  master- 
minds of  every  age.  Though  the  oldest  book  in  the  world, 
it  is  still  ever  new  ;  its  leaves  never  wither,  and  its  beauty 
never  fades.  In  the  palmiest  days  of  persecution,  when  the 
spirit  of  de-potism  was  abroad,  and  the  leaves  of  truth  were 
mutilated  by  the  frauds  of  the  impostor,  even  then  it  might 
be  said,  as  was  said  of  the  ruler's  daughter,  '  It  is  not  d< 
but  slecpeth.' 

"  This  element  of  perpetuity  is  proof  not  only  of  its  truth, 
but  of  its  wonderful  adaptation  to  the  wants  and  woes  of 
human  life.  Though  stretching,  as  it  does,  over  a  thousand 
years,  and  composed  by  men  of  various  mental  complexion, 


1843-1844.]         Ufe  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  135 

under  as  various  circumstances,  it  is  still  the  perfect  realiza- 
tion of  the  idea  of  one  mind.  The  dark  gulf  of  futurity,  over 
which  poetry  and  philosophy  hang  with  wearied  wing,  is 
lighted  up  by  its  rays  ;  it  attracts  by  no  ingenious  subtlety  of 
argument,  but  all  its  teachings  are  perspicuous  and  popular. 
Lucid  in  its  enunciation,  the  points  of  faith  on  which  hang 
our  hopes  of  heaven  are  covered  with  a  flood  of  light. 
Through  its  columns  the  most  gifted  intellect  may  roam  with 
profit,  and  before  its  revelation  human  reason  stands  rebuked, 
unable,  perhaps,  to  believe,  and  afraid  to  doubt ;  and  at  the 
end  of  its  pilgrimage,  after  the  measure  by  which  it  shall  test 
its  own  rectitude  and  consciousness,  when  that  reason  stands 
in  doubt  and  despair,  the  great  Teacher  comes  with  the  rule, 
'  If  any  man  do  my  will,  he  shall  know  of  the  doctrine 
whether  it  be  of  God,  or  whether  I  speak  of  myself.' 

"  The  Bible  deals  not  in  subtle  analogies  and  cold  abstrac- 
tions, but  in  the  healthful  virtues  of  life  ;  it  comes  home  to 
the  heart,  and  makes  its  truths  the  subject  of  consciousness 
whereby  we  exclaim  :  '  That  which  was  from  the  beginning, 
which  we  have  heard,  which  we  have  seen  with  our  eyes, 
which  we  have  looked  upon,  and  our  hands  have  handled,  of 
the  Word  of  Life.'  It  commends  itself  to  every  man's  con- 
science in  the  sight  of  God,  by  the  excellence  of  its  law  and 
the  conclusiveness  of  its  testimony,  so  that  even  human  de- 
pravity, when  it  walks  amid  its  precepts,  is  compelled,  like 
devils  among  the  tombs,  to  acknowledge  the  purity  of  its 
morals  and  the  holiness  of  its  presence.  The  genealogy  of 
its  proof  demonstrates  it  to  be  the  same  yesterday,  to-day, 
and  forever.  The  faith  that  justified  righteous  Abel,  and 
whereby  Enoch  walked  with  God,  the  faith  by  which  Abra- 
ham kept  the  covenant,  the  importunity  by  which  Moses 
prevailed,  and  the  penitential  sighs  of  David,  still  attract  the 
notice  of  heaven,  and  call  down  the  blessing  of  God.  The 
baptism  of  the  Spirit  still  attends  on  the  ministration  of  the 
Word  ;  and  though  no  cloven  tongues  of  fire  flame  from  the 
lips  of  proselytes,  the  heart  still  palpitates  beneath  the  warm 
breathings    of  the   Holy  Ghost,  before   whose  stately  step- 


13G  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  [Ohap.yI 

pings  the  human  reason  falls  in  reverence,  and  the  human 
fancy  cowers  in  astonishment. 

"In  every  age  there  have  been  men  who  have  set  them- 
selves forth  as  teachers  of  wisdom,  but  they  have  divided 
their  doctrines  into  parts  for  the  schools,  and  parts  for  the 
people,  and  imparted  these  to  a  company  of  select  friends  or 
pupils,  whom  they  regarded,  and  who  regard  themselves,  as  a 
privileged  order.  Occasionally  these  instructors  may  have 
done  nu>re  ;  and  for  the  sake  of  winning  the  temporary 
admiral i  fickle  crowd   may  have  enhanced  their  rep- 

utation, and  deepened  their  sacred  reverence,  by  obscure 
enunciations  of  awful  mysteries — enunciations  which  were 
calculated  rather  to  stupefy  the  soul  than  to  make  the  reason 
:i.      Disdainful  distributor  of  what  she  falsely  called  the 

•  elements  of  religion,  philosophy  kindled  her  dim  fires 
upon  th<  of  human  science,  ami  left  man  covered  with 

in  the  vales  below.  All  other  systems 
than  this  of  the  Bible  have  been  founded  on  misconception 
of  the   v.  •    man,  enriching  time  by  despoiling  eternity  ; 

they  appeal  to  human  reason,  .ind  exhibit,  even  when  the 
majesty  of  mind  is  associated  with  them,  an  intellectual  glory 
that  stuns  rather  than  instructs,  and  elicits  an  admiring  won- 
der rather  than  the  consent  "f  the  heart.  But  the  Bible- 
is  adapted  t<>  all  cL  ind  states  of  man  ;  ami  where  it 
fails  to  save,  it  never  fails  to  refine.  The  conviction  of  its 
truth  is  sustained  by  what  man  feels  within  him  and  sees 
without  him,  and,  however  invisible  its  operations  and  how- 
ever difficult  to  trace  its  effects  to  their  source,  it  still  operates, 
slowly  and  surely,  and  builds  the  monuments  of  its  divinity 
by  the  moral  changes  it  creates.  Whatever  scepticism  may 
insinuate  of  its  improbability,  whatever  malignity  may  coin 
of  its  worthless  tendency,  it  is  still  the  rejoicing  of  us  all  that 
the  leaven  is  in  the  meal,  and  will  surely  penetrate  the  whole 
lump;  that  the  mustard-seed,  the  smallest  of  all  seeds,  is  in 
the  soil  and  will  shoot  forth  its  trunk  and  its  branches  and 
cover  itself  with  foliage  in  which  the  birds  may  nestle,  and 
take  repose  from   the   heat   of  the   day.      For  the  divinity  of 


1S43-1S44.]         nfe  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  137 

the  record,  for  the  truth  of  its  testimony,  for  the  defence  of 
our  calling,  and  the  justification  of  our  ministration,  we  rely 
singly  and  solely  upon  the  inherent  energies  of  God  in  the 
Book. 

"  There  may  be  nothing  in  the  operation  of  the  Bible  to 
attract  the  notice  of  the  great  world  ;  but  simplicity  is  nature's 
great  law.  The  cloud  that  passes  along  without  the  pomp 
of  thunder  or  lightning  pours  from  its  generous  bosom  the 
gentle  rain  to  gladden  the  earth,  and  makes  the  garden  to 
smile  and  blossom.  Philosophy,  however,  proposes  herself 
as  the  regenerator  of  the  race  ;  standing  out  at  the  base  of 
human  corruption,  with  her  form  but  half  revealed  by  the 
artificial  glare  about  her,  she  talks  to  the  victim  who  is  wal- 
lowing in  filth  and  uncleanness,  about  fate  and  necessity,  and 
leaves  the  miserable  wretch  disconsolate  in  his  lot,  diseased 
in  his  fancy,  and  bankrupt  in  his  hopes.  But  the  Bible,  at 
one  breath,  sweeps  off  the  mists  from  this  palpitating  mass  of 
festering  rottenness,  reveals  the  present  and  the  future  to  the 
eye  of  the  morally  maimed  and  halt,  and  says  unto  them,  as 
unto  the  man  at  the  pool,  '  Arise,  for  thy  redemption  is  near.' 

"  The  Bible  is  a  source  of  consolation  in  the  calamities  of 
life,  and  is  equally  adapted  to  the  rich  and  the  poor.  But 
there  are  privations  in  the  lot  of  the  poor  which  make  its 
teaching  necessary.  The  beams  of  the  sun  are  never  more 
grateful  than  when  he  bursts  from  the  clouds  and  the  storms  ; 
and,  in  like  manner,  the  Bible  is  never  more  welcome  than 
when  its  leaves  come  distributing  consolation  to  the  needy, 
the  desolate,  and  the  heart-stricken  of  earth.  The  primitive 
denunciation  falls  heavily  upon  the  poor  man,  and  when  all 
other  resources  fail,  where  shall  we  look  for  consolation  but 
to  Him  who  cares  for  all,  to  Him  who  listens  to  the  chirping 
sparrow  upon  the  wintry  hedges  of  the  world,  and  sees  the 
parched  lily  drooping  with  heat  and  blight  ?  Fear  not,  then, 
for  are  ye  not  of  much  more  value  than  many  sparrows  ?  It 
tells  us  that  He  feeds  the  ravens  and  hears  the  young  lions 
when  they  roar,  and  then,  when  man  is  forsaken,  and  his 
house  and  his  earthly  fortunes  left  unto  him  desolate,  it  tells 


138  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  [Chap.  VI 

him  that  God,  his  friend,  looks  down  from  heaven  and  careth 
for  tlie.se  things.  In  the  course  of  my  pastoral  visitations  I 
lately  called  upon  a  widowed  lady  who  had  but  recently 
buried  a  fond  husband  and  now  had  three  or  four  children 
about  her,  dependent  for  their  support  upon  her  needle.  As 
I  entered  the  house  one  of  the  little  ones  told  me  their 
mother  had  gone  out  for  the  morning.  I  passed  on,  and 
came  to  the  habitation  of  an  old  lad}',  who  was  without  father 
or  mother  or  near  relation  in  the  world,  decrepit  with  years, 
and  with  a  soul  bowed  down  with  often  mourning;  she  was 
alone  in  the  world,  and  her  tendcrest  earthly  affections  re- 
posed  in  the  silence  of  the  sepulchre.  There  I  found  also  the 
first  lady,  who  had  left  her  home,  lonely  and  depressed  with 
sorrow-;  and  cares,  and  had  called  on  Mother  Cox,  such  is  the 
name   of  th<  tnt   of  God,    that   she   might  gather 

strength  and  comfort  from  her  communion.  There  sat  those 
lone  one^,  widowed  of  earthly  hopes,  the  one  with  a  heart 
freshly  scathed  by  the  mysterious  chastening  of  the  wise  God, 

and  the  Other,  with  gray  hairs,  leaning  upon  the  reed  of  faith, 
which  that  same  God  would  not  suffer  to  break  and  pierce 
her  hand  ;  and  the  latter,  just  tottering  on  the  edge  of  the 
grave,  was  discoursing  to  the  friendless  Ruth  and  leaning 
over  the  ever-bubbling  well  of  salvation,  and  drawing  the 
waters  of  life  to  quench  the  spiritual  thirst  of  her  young  sis- 
ter and  refresh  her  soul  in  its  bitter  wretchedness.  It  was 
there  the  divinity  of  the  Gospel  appeared,  healing  wounds  and 
elevating  hopes,  and  encouraging  to  that  patient  endurance 
whereby  we  inherit  the  promises. 

"  It  is  the  sin  of  the  nations  and  the  curse  of  the  Church 
that  we  have  never  properly  appreciated  the  Bible  as  we 
ought.  It  is  the  book  of  books  for  the  pri< :st  and  for  the 
people,  for  the  old  and  for  the  young.  It  should  be  the  ten- 
ant of  the  academy  as  well  as  of  the  nursery,  and  ought  to 
be  incorporated  in  our  course  of  education,  from  the  mother's 
knee  to  graduation  in  the  highest  universities  in  the  land. 
Everything  is  destined  to  fail  unless  the  Bible  be  the  fulcrum 
on  which  these  laws  revolve.     Can  such  a  book  be  read  with- 


1843-1844.]  [jfe  anci  Jimes  0f  George  F.  Pierce.  139 

out  an  influence  commensurate  with  its  importance  ?  As 
well  might  the  flowers  sleep  when  the  spring  winds  its  mel- 
low horn  to  call  them  from  their  bed  ;  as  well  might  the 
mist  linger  upon  the  bosom  of  the  lake  when  the  sun  beckons 
it  to  leave  its  dewy  home.  The  Bible  plants  our  feet  amid 
that  angel  group  which  stood  with  eager  wing  expectant 
when  the  Spirit  of  God  first  hovered  over  the  abyss  of  chaos, 
and  wraps  us  in  praise  for  the  new-born  world  when  the 
morning  stars  sang  together  for  joy.  The  Bible  builds  for  us 
the  world  when  we  were  not ;  stretches  our  conceptions  of 
the  infinite  beyond  the  last  orbit  of  astronomy  ;  pacifies  the 
moral  discord  of  earth  ;  reorganizes  the  dust  of  the  sepulchre, 
and  tells  man  heaven  is  his  home  and  eternity  his  lifetime. 

"  What,  sir,  was  the  Reformation,  but  a  resurrection  of 
the  Bible  ?  Cloistered  in  the  superstitition  of  mediaeval 
Rome  for  a  thousand  years,  its  moral  rays  had  been  inter- 
cepted, and  the  intellect  of  man,  stricken  at  a  blow  from  its 
pride  of  place,  was  shut  within  the  dark  walls  of  moral  de- 
spair, and  slept  the  sleep  of  death  beneath  its  wizard  spell. 
Opinion  fled  from  the  chambers  of  the  heart,  and  left  the 
mind  to  darkness  and  to  change.  But  Luther  evoked  the 
Bible  and  its  precepts  from  its  prison-house,  and  the  Word  of 
God  breathed  the  warm  breath  of  life  upon  the  Valley  of  Vi- 
sion, and  upon  the  sleeping  Lethean  sea.  Intellect  burst  from 
the  trance  of  ages,  dashed  aside  the  portals  of  her  dark  dungeon, 
felt  the  warm  sunlight  relax  her  stiffened  limbs,  forged  her 
fetters  into  swords,  and  fought  her  way  to  freedom  and  to  fame. 

"The  Bible,  sir,  is  the  guide  of  the  erring,  and  the  re- 
claimer of  the  wandering  ;  it  heals  the  sick,  consoles  the  dy- 
ing, and  purifies  the  living.  If  you  would  propagate  Prot- 
estantism, circulate  the  Bible.  Let  the  master  give  it  to 
the  pupil,  the  professor  to  his  class,  the  father  to  his  son,  the 
mother  to  her  daughter,  place  it  in  every  home  in  the  land  ; 
then  shall  the  love  of  God  cover  the  earth,  and  the  light  of 
salvation  overlay  the  land,  as  the  sunbeams  of  morning  lie 
upon  the  mountains." 

The  enthusiasm  aroused  by  the  speech  was  immense.    Dr. 


140 


Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  [Ghat.  vi. 


Jefferson  Hamilton  was  sitting  by  Dr.  Lovick  Pierce,  and, 
carried  away  by  his  excitement,  he  said  eagerly  to  the  doc- 
tor: "  Did  you  ever  hear  the  like?"  "Yes,"  said  the  fund 
father,  complacently,  "  I  hear  George  often." 

While  he  was  absent  his  little  baby-girl  Sarah  sickened 
and  died.  She  was  a  sweet  child  of  only  a  year  old,  the 
second  he  had  lost,  both  in  his  absence,     lie  came  home  to 


BKYKKI.Y    WAfiill,    D.D. 


his  stricken  wife  in  June,  and  gave  himself  to  hard  work, 
preaching  over  one  hundred  times  before  Conference.  When 
it  met,  his  two  years  were  expired,  and  he  was  sent  to  the 
Augusta  District  the  second  time.  During  this  period  there 
quite  a  sprightly  war  waged  in  the  columns  of  the  Advo- 
cate on  the  question  of  whether  the  ministers  should  wear 
round-breasted  coats  or  no.  The  custom  had  been  assailed 
by  an  anonymous  writer  rather  savagely,  and  defended  with 
no  less  earnestness    by  others;  at  last  Mr.   Pierce,  signing 


1843-1844.]  nfe  anci  Times  0f  George  F.  Pierce.  141 

himself  '  Epaphras,'  entered  the  field.  He  wrote  only  one  let- 
ter, and  left  the  question  to  be  settled  by  others.  I  give  a 
few  extracts  from  it. 

"  Round-breasted  Coats.— For  myself,  I  think  neither 
the  more  nor  the  less  of  a  man  for  wearing  a  round-breasted 
coat.  Some  brethren  have  adopted  them  from  taste,  or  early 
predilection,  but  troubled  nobody  else  about  them.  To  them 
we  have  nothing  to  say.  They  have  a  right  to  their  choice  in 
the  premises,  and  it  is  nobody's  business.  Others  wear  them 
for  conscience'  sake.  We  think  they  are  mistaken,  but  respect 
their  motive  and  feel  satisfied.  And  yet  others  wear  them  to 
gratify  a  father,  a  friend,  or  an  old  preacher.  Here  again  the 
motive  is  kind,  even  if  the  act  is  not  judicious.  One  man  es- 
teemeth  one  coat  above  another,  another  esteemeth  every 
coat  alike.  Let  each  man  be  persuaded  in  his  own  mind,  but 
when  a  man  mounts  the  coat  of  his  preference  and  even  his 
conscience,  and  insists  upon  my  getting  one  just  like  it,  and 
puts  me  under  the  ban  of  his  prejudices,  it  is  high  time  to 
preach  to  him  from  the  text,  '  Hast  thou  faith,  have  it  to  thy 
self  before  God.'     ......... 

"  Some  of  our  good  brethren  are  afflicted  with  a  mono- 
mania on  this  subject.  In  their  estimation  a  church  is  world- 
ly minded  unless  it  is  disfigured  by  round-breasted  coats  of 
the  oldest  pattern.  The  subject  is  intruded  everywhere.  At 
private  houses,  camp-meetings,  everywhere,  the  changes  and 
the  charges  are  rung  upon  it. 

"  Verily,  there  is  a  species  of  dogmatic,  fanatic,  ultra- 
ism  in  all  this  that  is,  little  as  the  brethren  suspect  it,  malign 
in  its  origin,  disgusting  in  its  delivery,  and  hurtful  to  the 
cause  of  God. 

' '  Those  who  determine  upon  the  genuineness  of  religion  by 
the  color  of  her  ribbons,  or  the  shape  of  the  coat,  expose  the 
Church  to  shame,  and  subject  her  members  to  ridicule. 

"  I  knew  a  good  brother  who  affirmed  of  another  that  he 
had  as  soon  see  the  devil  go  into  the  pulpit.  Why  ?  He  had 
on  a  dress  coat.       ......... 


142 


Life  and  Times,  of  George  F.  Pierce.  [Cnxr.  vi. 


"  I  know  «in  honest  brother,  I  love  him  much,  who,  de- 
spite his  faith  and  zeal,  has  become  so  rampant  in  his  feelings 
that  with  those  who  do  not  know  him  intimately  his  ministry 
is  at  a  fearful  discount.  He  is  consistent,  however.  His 
figure  is  so  antiquated  by  his  ungainly  costume  that  he  looks 


BISHOI'   HKUUINtJ. 


as  if  the  head  of  some  one  of  twenty-five  had  been  set  upon 
the  body  and  shoulders  of  some  decrepit  revolutioner.  1 1 i - 
clothes  hang  upon  him  like  a  shirt  upon  a  pair  of  tongs.  Nor 
i^  there  any  sense  in  such  an  arrangement  of  dress,  nor  is 
there  any  religion  in  it.  Some  men  do  not  understand  the 
difference  between  humbling  themselves  and  humbling  their 
religion." 


CHAPTER  VII. 

ON  THE  DISTRICT  AGAIN,    1845-1848,  AGED  34-37. 

Sunshine — The  Farming  Elder — The  Home  Life — R.  M.  Johnson's 
Letter — His  Ministry — Camp-meeting  Season — Convention  in  Louis- 
ville— General  Conference  at  Petersburg — View  of  the  District — 
Sketches  of  the  Preachers. 

The  Conference  met  at  Eatonton,  in  December.  Bishop 
Soule  presided,  and  Dr.  Pierce,  for  the  degree  of  D.D.  had 
been  conferred  on  him  by  the  Transylvania  University, 
was  sent  to  the  Augusta  District  as  presiding  elder.  The 
district,  as  far  as  territory  was  concerned,  was  much  as  it  was 
when  he  left  it  in  1838.  It  included  Richmond,  Columbia, 
Lincoln,  Washington,  Wilkes,  Louisville,  Waynesboro,  War- 
renton,  Hancock,  and  Sandersville. 

During  his  first  term  as  a  presiding  elder  on  the  Augusta 
District,  ten  years  before,  he  had  a  home  in  Sparta.  While  he 
was  on  this  district  at  that  time  there  was  a  great  camp-meet- 
ing in  Hancock,  and  a  number  of  sterling  young  planters  had 
been  converted  and  had  joined  the  Church.  These  men 
became  the  warmest  friends  of  the  young  elder ;  and  now 
that  he  was  out  of  a  parsonage  and  must  have  a  home,  he 
turned  his  eye  toward  Hancock.  Hardy  Culver  was  one  of 
his  stanch  friends,  and  continued  such  as  long  as  he  lived. 
He  was  a  sturdy,  industrious,  prosperous  planter,  upright, 
generous,  pious.  From  him,  on  easy  terms,  Dr.  Pierce 
bought  his  second  home.  It  was  an  old  plantation,  some 
four  miles  from  Sparta.  There  was  a  three-room  dwelling 
on  it,  located  somewhat  inconveniently.  The  spot  chosen 
for  the  designed  dwelling  was  in  an  old  field,  near  the  road. 
Whether  from  the  fact  that  no  sun-ray  was  intercepted  by  a 


144  Life  ami  Times  of  George  F.  Pierre.         [Chap,  vii 

shrub  or  tree,  or  from  the  fact  that  he  loved  bright  and 
cheery  names,  he  called  his  new  home  "  Sunshine,"  and  here 
for  over  forty  years,  with  only  a  few  breaks,  he  had  his  abode. 
He  spent  a  year  in  Sparta,  and  then  removed  to  his  home. 

To  the  summit  of  a  hill,  near  the  road,  he  had  moved  his 
little  cottage.  There  was  not  a  tree,  nor  a  flower,  nor  an 
enclosure,  when  the  fair  young  wife  with  Ella,  Lovick, 
Claudia,  and  Man-,  the  baby,  went  to  take  possession.  He 
was  four  miles  from  the  village,  a  half-mile  from  his  nearest 
r,  but  his  gentle  Ann  had  long  since  made  up  her 
mind  never  to  fret  or  complain  ;  and  very  cheerfully  the  wife 
of  the  most  eloquent,  and  one  of  the  most  famous  preachers 
of  all  Methodism,  went  into  her  three-room  house  and  made 
it   as   bright   as    industry   and   neatness  could  make  it.     The 

hbofhood  in  which  he  lived  was  one  of  those  often  found 
in  the  State  of  Georgia  in  those  days.  The  plantations  were 
not    to,,    large    to    make  the  white  population  too  sparse  for 

il  enjoyment,  and  yet  they  were  large  enough  to  make 
every  man  independent.  Haul  y  Middlebrooks,  Hardy 
Culver,  Thomas  Turner,  all  substantial  men,  who  were 
true  to  the  Church,  and  to  the  State,  and  to  their  friend, 
lived  near.  For  their  clerical  neighbor  they  had  a  great 
affection,  which  was  fully  reciprocated  by  him.  He  dearly 
loved  the  country,  had  little  use  for  towns  or  cities.  Farming 
was  a  real  luxury  to  him.  He  planted  trees  ;  every  oak,  elm, 
and  cedar  at  Sunshine  was  planted  by  his  hand.  He  planted 
flowers  and  fruits,  and  the  enjoyment  of  his  life  was  found  in 
the  rural  surroundings  of  his  own  country-home.  Sunshine 
was  a  dear  spot  to  him,  and  the  warm,  generous  hospitality 
he  dispense.!  there  has  made  the  little  cottage  known  all 
over  the  continent.  Across  the  way  from  him  was  Rockby, 
the  home  of  Richard  M.  Johnson,  the  distinguished  author  of 
the  "  Dukesborough  Talcs,"  and  many  other  works  of  unusual 
merit.  Although  it  is  very  possible  that  the  account  he  gives 
of  the  bishop's  home-life  was  truer  of  a  later  period  than  of 
this  early  one,  yet  it  will  not  mar  the  unity  of  the  story  to 
give  it  here. 


HARDY   CULVER. 


1845-1847.]         Ufe  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  145 

"  23  Taney  Place,  Baltimore,  February  12,  1885. 
"Rev.  Atticus  G.  Haygood,  D.D.,  LL.D. 

"  My  Dear  Sir  :  I  have  not  had  leisure  before  now  to 
send  you  my  promised  letter  about  Bishop  Pierce.  As  it  is,  I 
must  say  less  than  I  could  or  would  say  if  you  and  I  were  to- 
gether for  a  chat  of  a  couple  of  hours  or  more. 

"  I  was  glad  when  I  heard  that  the  getting  out  a  biog- 
raphy of  him  had  been  intrusted  to  you.  By  inquiries  among 
those  who  saw  most  of  his  private  life,  you  can  get  much  that 
will  add  to  the  interest  already  imparted  by  his  public  career. 

"  I  was  a  neighbor  to  Bishop  Pierce  for  twelve  years,  my 
home  in  Hancock,  Rockby,  adjoining  Sunshine,  which  all 
know  to  have  been  the  name  of  his.  I  had  grown  already  to 
feel  great  admiration  for  one  so  pre-eminently  gifted,  and  for 
many  years  had  heard  his  pulpit  eloquence  with  continual 
delight.  But  I  did  not  know,  until  I  had  become  his  close 
neighbor,  that,  great  as  he  was  in  public,  he  was  equally  so 
in  private.  A  cordial  friendship  grew  between  him  and  my- 
self, notwithstanding  our  divergence  in  religious  faith.  For, 
of  all  the  very  great  men  whom  I  have  known,  he  seemed  to 
me  the  most  tolerant  toward  opinions  differing  from  his  own, 
upon  whatever  plane  of  inquiry. 

"  Now,  what  shall  I  say  of  George  Pierce  as  a  neighbor  and 
a  friend  ?  I  have  been  in  his  house  and  he  in  mine.  We 
have  met  at  the  little  creek,  the  dividing  line  of  our  planta- 
tions, and  fished  for  minnows  together.  We  have  ridden,  in 
his  or  my  buggy,  together,  to  and  from  Sparta.  We  have 
talked  together  of  sportive  things  and  serious  things.  He 
was  ever  a  sweet  consoler  to  me  when  suffering  from  domes- 
tic affliction.  In  all  these  relations  his  deportment  was  such 
as  I  have  always  remembered  with  pleasure  ;  pleasure  that 
contii.ues  to  be  a  part  of  the  sadness  I  feel  now  that  he  is  no 
more.  Such  virtues  as  simplicity,  innocence,  compassion  for 
every  form  of  distress,  readiness  to  co-operate  in  propositions 
put  forth  for  general  or  individual  betterment,  lowliness  as 
well  as  cheerfulness  in  religious  deportment — these  are  some 
of  the  things  that  made  his  private  life  seem  exceedingly 
10 


UG  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierre.        &***•  vn. 

beautiful.  If  he  had  ever  any  interchange  of  neighborly  of- 
fices, or  any  alteration  of  conjoining  fences  to  propose,  I  could 
never  hesitate  to  agree,  even  without  reflection  thereon,  be- 
cause I  knew  that  in  such  propositions  he  had  had  regard  for 
my  interests  not  less  carefully  than  his  own. 

"  There  were  several  intermarriages  between  his  negroes 
and  mine.  I  once  attended  one  between  one  of  mine,  Lucius 
(now  one  of  your  colored  bishops),  and  Harriet,  a  fine  woman 
belonging  then  to  the  bishop.  He  performed  the  ceremony 
in  the  mansion,  after  which  the  bridal  party  withdrew,  and 
the  whites  spent  the  evening  together  until  a  late  hour.      He 

ned  to  have  partaken  of  some  of  the  joyousness  of  our 
humble  dependents.  We  had  our  pipes  (for  he  loved  fhc 
weed  and  was  never  without  a  good  article),  and  I  never  have 
forgotten  the  heart}'  merriment  in  which  we  indulged,  most 
of  which  had  been  inspired  by  his  anecdotes.  The  sense  of 
humor  in  him  was  exquisite  and  abundant.  The  twinkling 
of  his  beautiful  eyes  in  making  or  listening  to  merry  recital 
as  catching  as  hre,  ami  tears  of  laughter  I  have  seen 
pouring  from  them  ami  others,  on  such  and  similar  occasions. 

"These  intermarriages  served  to  lead  me  to  yet  more 
familiar  acquaintance  with  his  domestic  rule  than  perhaps  I 
should  have  had  otherwise.      He  was  one  of  the  very  best 

ters  in  the  whole  State,  justly  noted  in  the  State  for  gen- 
eral humane  treatment  of  the  slaves.  His  own  were  warmly 
attached  to  his  person.  I  suspect  that  he  made  little  if  any 
by  their  work  ;  but  whatever  was  the  result  of  the  tasks  he 
imposed,  it  subtracted  nothing  from  the  satisfaction  he  felt 
in  the  sense  of  having  tried  to  do  for  them  all  that  was  suita- 
ble and  possible  to  their  condition.  Hancock  County  was 
noted,  as  you  arc  aware,  for  its  skilful,  successful  planters. 
As  a  rule,  they  were  kind  to  their  slaves.  Occasionally, 
however,  one  would  hear  of  a  case  of  neglect  or  intemperate 
driving.  This  was  not  at  all  frequent,  but  at  such  times  a 
man  stepping  into  the  Methodist  Church  at  Sparta  might 
hear  words  from  Pierce  on  the  treatment  of  slaves  that  would 
make  him  feel  like  hastening  to  undo  or  repair  any  wrong  he 


1845-1847.]         ufe  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  147 

may  have  done,  intentionally  or  thoughtlessly,  in  a  matter  so 
important  to  civil  society,  to  humanity,  and  religion. 

"  While  all  who  knew  Pierce  well  had  affection  for  him, 
and  he  for  many  of  them,  yet  he  was  one  eminently  sensitive 
to  the  sweets  of  individual  friendships.  I  remember  well  how 
he  loved  the  old  man  Hardy  Culver,  a  sort  of  patriarch, 
one  of  the  stanchest  of  his  kind,  and  Colonel  Tom  Turner, 
whose  son  married  one  of  his  daughters.  He  also  was  a  man 
of  great  strength  of  character.  Among  those  outside  of  Han- 
cock, my  impression  was  always  that  he  was  most  fond  of 
General  Toombs.  They  had  been  friends  from  boyhood. 
Alike  in  genius,  eloquence,  and  probity,  they  must  have  be- 
come familiar  and  fond,  especially  when  their  vast  powers 
were  exerted  upon  different  fields.  The  very  last  time  I  saw 
him,  except  one,  he  spoke  to  me  with  regret  amounting 
almost  to  indignation,  of  the  rashness  with  which  the  general 
was  sometimes  misjudged  by  persons  who  did  not  understand 
his  character,  his  opinions,  his  language,  and  his  habits. 

"  Of  all  public  men  whom  I  have  known,  Bishop  Pierce, 
considering  his  eminent  greatness,  seemed  to  me  the  most 
prudent.  This  was  more  remarkable  in  that  he  was  so  fear- 
less. No  knight  of  the  middle  age  was  more  courageous  in 
forming  his  convictions  or  in  supporting  them  by  action  and 
language.  Yet  he  could  mingle  amid  those  engaged  in  the 
strifes  of  political  opinions,  and  never  utter  a  word  or  take  a 
step  that  tended  to  injure  the  benign  influence  which  he  felt 
that  Heaven  had  commissioned  him  to  exert.  No  party 
could  boast  of  him  as  a  partisan,  and  none  assail  him  as  an 
enemy.  In  this  respect  he  always  seemed  to  me  one  not  only 
to  be  admired,  but  wondered  at.  His  presence  upon  the 
street  on  an  election  day,  or  other  season  of  party  gathering, 
operated  benignly  upon  men  of  all  parties.  He  was  the 
most  beautiful  of  mankind  without,  and  men  of  all  parties  be- 
lieved that  his  external  beauty  was  the  best  expression  that 
physical  form  and  features  could  give  of  the  more  exquisite 
beauty  within.  They  loved  to  meet  and  look  upon,  and  talk 
with,  and  listen  to  a  man  whom  they  knew  to  be  as  consistent 


148  Life  ami  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.         V****  vn 

as  he  was  beautiful,  as  simple  as  he  was  great,  as  devout  in 
heart  as  he  was  majestic  in  carriage  and  powers. 

"  Of  the  oratorical  excellence  of  George  Pierce,  of  course 
the  thousands  who  heard  him  know.  Yet  I  do  believe  that 
his  very  greatest  endeavors  were  expended  in  that  same  little 
Sparta  Methodist  Church.  Scores  of  times  have  I  heard  him 
there  during  a  period  «>f  more  than  twenty  years,  there 
and  at  the  Methodist  camp-meeting  a  few  miles  south  of  the 
village,  in  the  which  time  I  have  listened  to  outbursts  of 
words  such  as  I  do  not  believe  were  surpassed  on  the  Bema 
of  Athens  or  the  Forum  of  Rome.  Many  a  time  have  I 
looked  and  listened  when  I  would  have  feared  that  he  must 
fall  from  such  daringly  lofty,  often  involved  eminences,  but 
that  the  thrilling  of  his  voice  and  the  ecstatic  beauty  of  his 
face  told  that  he  felt  conscious  of  celestial  support.  I  have 
heard  him  preach  sermons  on  occasions  of  the  death  of  friends 
and  church  brothers  and  sisters,  while  the  coffins  would  be 
resting  in  the  chancel  below,  when  men's  hair  would  nearly 
stand  on  end  at  some  of  his  warnings,  and  they  would  actually 
i  to  fall  in  love  with  death  while  he  would  be  describing 
the  blessedness  of  those  who  die  in  the  Lord. 

"  What  must  such  a  man  have  been  in  his  family?  How 
many  the  benignities  of  fifty  years  in  such  a  domestic  circle  ! 
I  yield  to  the  temptation  to  insert  a  few  extracts  from  a  letter 
I  received  from  him  last  February  in  acknowledgment  of  one 
and  a  box  of  cigars  that  I  had  sent  for  his  golden   wedding. 

"  '  It  is  pleasant  to  know  that  your  Georgia  instincts  are  still 
strong  within  you.  These  are  good  things  to  cherish.  We 
were  born  in  a  good  time,  grew  up  amid  glorious  environ- 
ments, and  the  sight  of  the  good  old  days  is  shining  now  in 
the  halls  of  memory.  I  spent  hours  walking  up  and  down, 
reviewing  past  scenes,  calling  back  familiar  faces  and  tones, 
and  living  over  my  boyhood  and  youth.  Dick  (pardon  the 
slip,  the  spell  of  the  past  is  upon  me),  we  were  honored  in 
our  aquaintances,  companions,  and  friends.  Our  associations 
were  of  the  best.  If  we  are  not  gentlemen  of  the  finest  type 
we  deserve  outlawry.      We  had  a  splendid  chance  to  be  men: 


1845-1847.]  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  149 

for  the  glory  and  inspiration  of  high  examples  were  always 
before  us. 

"  '  Weli,  the  golden  wedding  has  come  and  gone.  We  had 
a  good  time — delightful.  Everybody  (and  the  house  was  full 
and  over)  seemed  happy.  The  occasion  proved  that  there 
may  be  festivity  full  of  soul-life,  enjoyment,  without  the  fid- 
dle and  the  dance,  or  the  exhilaration  of  wine  or  Kentucky 
Bourbon.  We  made  speeches,  talked,  laughed,  ate  meats 
and  cakes  and  fruits,  had  syllabub  in  abundance,  oysters 
fresh  and  pickled,  and  good  things  generally.  A  box  or  two 
of  cigars  were  exhausted.     My  old  bride ' 

"  I  omit  the  affectionate,  tender  praise  with  which  he 
wrote  of  her. 

"  '  We  would  all  have  been  happy,  nay,  happier,  if  you 
had  been  there.  Well,  we  closed  with  praise  and  prayer,  and 
went  to  rest  composed  and  blest  of  God.  7/  was  a  good  time. 
I  trust  it  will  do  good,  because  people  saw  and  felt  that  it 
was  possible  to  be  socially  happy  without  folly  or  sin. 
"  '  Yours  in  the  bonds  of  Ga.  and  its  memories, 

"'G.  F.  Pierce.' 

"  I  met  him  for  the  last  time  in  July  at  Sparta,  when  I 
was  appalled  at  his  decline,  so  much  more  advanced  than  I 
had  supposed.  Yet  his  smile  at  some  pleasantries  we  had 
was  little  subdued  from  what  it  had  been  in  young  manhood. 
I  was  convinced  that  his  end  was  near ;  but  I  confidently  be- 
lieved that  he  would  depart  in  the  peace  that  remained  with 
him  to  the  last. 

"  This  is  at  least  enough  for  a  letter  intended  mainly  to 
tell  you  of  some  impressions  made  upon  me  by  his  life  in 
private.  I  shall  ever  be  fond  to  remember  him,  both  for  the 
pleasure  I  took  in  his  society,  and  the  benefits  which  I  hope 
were  imparted  to  me  by  his  example. 

"  With  great  regard, 

"  Your  obedient  servant, 

"  R.  M.  Johnston." 

He  did  not  spend  much  time  in  getting  things  fixed  for 


150  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.        [Ohap.  vii. 

the  little  wife  to  manage  ere  the  district  called  for  his  service. 
His  district  was  not  a  large  one  as  to  the  number  of  appoint- 
ments, but  covered  a  large  territory.  It  had  to  be  travelled 
entirely  by  private  conveyance.  To  give  an  idea  of  the  work 
done,  I  find  in  his  old  memorandum-book  that  during  the 
year  1S45  he  travelled  six  thousand  and  eighty-six  miles,  and 
preached  one  hundred  and  fifty-three  times.  The  record 
shows  how  he  often  returned  to  his  home  ;  he  so  arranged 
his  district  that  he  could  spare  a  day  or  two  for  such  time  on 


A 


r. 


B 


i 


.' 


j.   r.   DVMCAM. 

his  way  from  one  appointment  to  another,  until  camp-meet- 
ing season  commenced,  when  he  could  scarcely  make  the 
journey  from  one  meeting  to  another.  He  had  much  use  for 
these  great  assemblies,  and  did  his  grandest  preaching  at 
them.  There  were  ten  charges  in  his  district,  and  there 
were  thirteen  camp-meetings,  and  he  reached  them  all.  The 
time  he  was  on  the  district  was  a  time  of  great  revivals.  He 
believed  in  them,  worked  for  them,  looked  for  them,  and  al- 
ways had  them.  A  fruitless  ministry,  he  once  told  me,  would 
have  killed  him.  He  could  not  live  without  revivals,  and 
so  he  surrounded   himself  with    revival   preachers.      Bishop 


1S45-1847.]         Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  151 

Pierce,  after  he  had  the  giving  of  places,  had  perhaps  a  weak- 
ness for  his  old  comrades,  and  at  no  time  in  his  life  did  he 
undervalue  the  man  whose  only  claim  to  distinction  was  that 
he  was  successful  in  winning  sinners  for  his  Lord.  He  cared 
little  for  culture  or  finish,  if  culture  and  finish  were  barren  of 
results.  John  W.  Knight,  rugged,  eccentric  ;  John  P.  Dun- 
can, finished  and  elegant,  were  alike  dear  to  him,  because  they 
won  souls.  Josiah  Lewis,  stern  as  Cromwell ;  Charley  Jewett, 
poetic,  cultivated,  with  much  of  Duncan's  fondness  for  all 
that  was  elegant  and  refined,  one  of  his  boys,  was  valued 
highly  by  him  ;  Wesley  P.  Arnold,  Caleb  W.  Key,  these 
were  of  his  staff.  He  was  a  field  officer,  and  his  subalterns 
were  proud  of  their  captain  and  ready  to  do  his  work.  The 
work  to  which  all  energy  was  turned  was  to  save  souls.  He 
did  not  spare  himself,  he  did  not  spare  anyone  else.  He 
never  complained.  Self,  ambition,  died  when  he  gave  himself 
to' his  Master;  as  his  eye  was  single,  his  whole  body  was  full 
of  light.  The  record  of  his  texts  shows  that  he  often  preached 
at  this  period  on  the  same  texts,  and  his  texts  were  always 
practical  and  direct.  Taking  at  random  a  page  from  his 
memorandum,  I  find  that  he  preached  : 

Warrenton,  I  Tim.  2:8 Prayer. 

Washington,  1  Tim .  2  :  8 Prayer. 

Washington,  2  Peter  1  :  10,  11 Diligence. 

Washington,  Psalm  51  :  12,  13 Penitence. 

Sparta,  I   Tim.  2  :  8 Prayer. 

Warrenton,  Psalm  51  :  13 Penitence. 

These  texts  are  all  direct  and  practical. 

While  he  was  presiding  elder  on  this  district  he  was 
called  to  attend  the  convention  at  Louisville,  and  the  General 
Conference  at  Petersburg.  His  trip  to  the  convention  was 
made  by  way  of  Pittsburg,  Pa.,  where  he  preached.  He 
preached  three  times  in  Louisville,  and  made  an  address  of 
an  hour  long.     In  the  course  of  it  he  said  : 

"  The  truth  is,  this  question  cannot  be  compromised.  It 
lies  beyond  the  control  of  North  or  South.     The  whole  secret 


152 


Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.         [Chap.  vii. 


of  the  agitation  was  found  in  the  fact  that  this  question  was 
bound  up  with  religious  conviction  on  the  part  of  Northern 
men,  and  made  matter  of  conscience.  It  is  identified  with 
their  very  hope  of  salvation,  part  and  parcel  of  their  relig- 
ion. 

"The  majority  of  the  late  Conference,  by  way  of  dislodg- 
ing from  the  public  mind  the  sentiment  of  sanctky  connected 


lilbllOF  J.\ 

with  the  Episcopal  office,  found  it  convenient  to  bring 
down  the  incumbent  to  the  level  of  editors  and  agents,  and 
had  laid  violent  hands  on  a  consecrated  officer  of  the  Church. 
The  movement  was  and  is  essentially  radical.  He  had  said 
re,  he  repeated  the  prediction,  that  ten  years  would  not 
after  the  North  had  lost  the  conservative  influence  of 
Southern  Methodism  before  every  distinctive  peculiarity  of 
original  Methodism  would  be  merged  into  Congregational- 
i^m. 


1845-1847.]         Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  153 

He  closed  his  speech  by  saying  :  "  The  North  has  taken 
their  ground,  we  have  taken  ours,  and  cannot,  will  not  aban- 
don it.  Re-union,  then,  is  impossible  ;  we  have  no  overtures 
to  make.  It  is  due  to  the  Church,  to  ourselves,  to  the  coun- 
try, that  we  stand  upon  our  rights,  and  until  the  North  comes 
back  to  the  Scripture  ground,  he,  for  one,  would  say,,'  Sep- 
aration and  independence,  now  and  forever.'  " 

He  went  to  the  General  Conference  at  Petersburg,  and 
of  his  visit  here  Dr.  Edwards  writes  : 

"  The  first  time  I  ever  saw  the  late  Bishop  Pierce  was  at 
the  General  Conference,  held  in  the  city  of  Petersburg,  Va. , 
in  the  month  of  May,  1846.  That  General  Conference  being 
the  first  of  the  quadrennial  sessions  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church  South,  attracted  wide-spread  attention.  The 
whole  Methodist  community,  far  and  near,  was  curious  to 
see  the  body  in  session  ;  to  witness  the  deliberations  ;  to  see 
the  great  men,  and  to  hear  the  distinguished  preachers.  It 
was  everywhere  known,  as  a  matter  of  course,  that  the  great 
Dr.  Bascom  would  be  there  ;  that  Drs.  Capers  and  Paine 
and  Winans,  and  the  two  Pierces,  father  and  son  ;  and  the 
eloquent  Parsons,  and  the  scarcely  less  eloquent  Kavanaugh, 
and  others  whose  fame  was  filling  the  land,  all  would  be  pres- 
ent. Even  then,  no  one  perhaps  had  acquired  greater  reputa- 
tion as  a  pulpit  orator  that  George  F.  Pierce,  of  Georgia.  His 
father,  Dr.  Lovick  Pierce,  had  been  seen  and  heard  in  Vir- 
ginia, but  his  distinguished  son  was  only  known  by  reputa- 
tion. I,  in  common  with  others,  was  anxious  to  see  and 
hear  him.  Being  stationed  in  Richmond  that  year,  it  was  an 
easy  matter  for  me  to  run  over  to  Petersburg,  and  spend  the 
intervals  between  the  Sabbaths  in  witnessing  the  progress  of 
the  General  Conference  business.  The  Conference  was  held 
in  the  old  Union  Street  Methodist  Church,  which  had  but  a 
few  years  before  been  turned  over  to  the  negroes,  the  white 
congregation  having  gotten  into  the  new  Washington  Street 
Church.  The  old  church,  according  to  the  prevailing  custom, 
had  large  and  commodious  galleries,  which  furnished  accom- 
modations for  the  visitors  who  came  as  spectators.     On  en- 


154  Life  aiui  Tunes  of  George  F.  Pierce.         [Chap.  YU 

tering  the  north-side  gallery,  on  the  morning  of  my  first  visit 
to  the  Conference,  I  had  a  full  view  of  the  platform,  and  of 
the  members  who  occupied  seats  in  the  centre  of  the  church 
and  under  the  south-side  gallery.  Rev.  George  \V.  Charleton, 
upernumerary  preacher,  who  lived  in  Petersburg)  was  at 
my  side,  and,  being  an  intelligent  and  observing  man,  he  had 
learned  the  names  and  gauged  the  calibre  of  the  leading 
members  of  the  body.  Heat  once  began  to  point  out  lir^r 
one  and  then  another  of  the  magnates,  as  he  called  them.  I 
asked  him  to  point  out  Dr.  L.  Tierce  and  his  soil  !  to 

me.  He  directed  my  attention  to  the  front  seat  in  the 
'  amen  corner,'  on  the  other  side  of  the  church  from  the 
position  we  occupied.  'The  two  men,' said  he,  'occupying 
the  end  of  the  seat  next  to  the  wall,  the  younger  of  the  two 
leaning  on  the  elder.  That  is  Dr.  Lovick  Pierce  and  his  son 
George;  and,'  Continued  he,  '  the  father  is  as  proud  of  that 
son  as  a  peacock  is  of  his  feathers.'  I  had  seen  the  '  old 
doctor '  once  before,  on  his  return  from  a  General  Confer- 
ence held  in  :c.       My  attention  was  turned  to  the  son. 

He  .     | ,,.  Alexander,  who  was  just 

then  making  a  speech.  The  subject  under  consideration  I  do 
not  now  recall.  Hut  I  became  interested  in  the  face  of 
George  F.  Pierce.  It  was  in  a  good  light  to  show  his  features 
to  advanl  .1  to  reveal  the  play  of  his  countenance  as  he 

listened  to  the  speaker.  The  impression  made  upon  me  at 
the  time  was  that  I  had  rarely,  if  ever,  seen  a  handsomer  face, 
or  more  symmetrical  features;  and  when  I  saw  him  rise  to 
his  feet  his  whole  form,  from  tip  to  toe,  struck  me  as  a  model 
for  a  sculptor.  During  the  Conference  he  went  once  on  Sun- 
to  Richmond,  and  preached  a  sermon  that  fairly  electri- 
fied the  people.  Next  to  Bascom.  ami  I  need  scarcely  ex- 
cept him.  G  F.  Pierce  made  the  finest  impression  on  the 
minds  and  hearts  of  the  people  that  was  produced  by  the 
preaching  of  any  of  the  very  able  men  in  that  first  General 
Conference  of  Southern  Methodism.  From  that  time  I 
never  saw  this  singularly  gifted  man  until  he  came  to  the 
Virginia  Conference  as  our  presiding  bishop." 


1843-1847.]         ufe  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce. 


155 


He  preached  at  Petersburg  four  times,  and  at  Richmond 
twice,  while  he  was  attending  the  General  Conference.  This 
was  the  first  General  Conference  held  by  the  Methodist 
Church  South.  The  effort  was  made  to  establish  a  great 
Southern  Methodist  University  at  Lexington,  Ky.  Dr. 
Bascom  was  to  be  president,  Dr.  George  F.  Pierce,  of 
Georgia,  was  selected  as  vice-president,  and  as  one  of  the 


WILLIAM   CAPERS,    D.D. 


professors.  He  declined  to  go  to  Kentucky,  as  he  had  de- 
clined to  take  a  professorship  at  Randolph  Macon.  His 
old  friend,  William  Capers,  and  his  friend  of  later  years, 
Robert  Paine,  were  selected  as  bishops.  John  Early  was 
elected  book-agent.  The  Conference  was  comparatively  un- 
eventful, and  as  usual  he  had  little  to  say  on  the  floor.  He 
preached  in  Petersburg,  May  24th,  and  on  the  30th  at  the 
country-church,   Rock   Mills,  near  his   home,  and  then  left 


15G 


Lite  iind  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.         [Obaf.  vn. 


immediately  for  his  district  work.  The  Conference  of  De- 
cember, 1846,  which  met  in  Macon,  made  a  change  in  his 
district,  which  very  much  increased  the  labor  of  travelling  it. 
Savannah  and  Effingham  were  attached  to  it,  so  that  he  had 
to  go  from  Lincolnton  to  Savannah  in  order  to  meet  the  de- 
mands of  his  work.  He  travelled  that  year,  according  to  his 
record,  five    thousand   three  hundred   and  thirty   miles,  and 


KOBERT    !   \I 


nearly  all  of  that  distance  by  private  conveyance.  He  never 
failed  to  preach  every  time  he  could,  and  he  preached  as 
readily  and  as  eloquently  in  the  country  school-house  as  in 
the  great  assemblies  of  the  cities.  He  never  preached  better 
than  he  did  while  he  was  presiding  elder  of  the  Augusta 
District.  It  is  needless  to  say  he  stood  at  the  top  of  the  list 
in  Georgia  as  a  preacher.  He  had  not  lost  his  interest  in 
the  colleges,  and  was  at  the  commencements  at  the  Female 


1845-1847.]         Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  157 

College  in  Macon,  which  had  emerged  from  the  depression 
of  the  years  in  which  he  was  agent,  and,  having  changed  its 
name  and  to  some  extent  its  character,  was  now  distinctively 
and  nominally  a  Methodist  College,  and  Emory,  after  very 
severe  struggles,  was  doing  excellent  work  with  Judge  Long- 
street  as  her  president. 

During  this  period  Dr.  Lovick  Pierce,  the  father,  had 
been  agent  for  the  American  Bible  Society,  and  was  still 
living  in  Columbus.  The  dear  old  mother  was  growing 
old,  and  her  first-born,  though  in  the  same  State,  was  almost 
always  absent  from  her.  His  services  were  needed  in  the 
western  part  of  the  Conference,  where  he  had  never  travelled, 
and  so  at  the  Conference  which  met  in  December,  1847,  ne 
was  appointed  to  Columbus.  The  home  in  Hancock  must  be 
given  up,  and  a  journey  of  over  a  hundred  and  fifty  miles 
must  be  made  in  a  carriage.  He  sold  out  again  all  his  fam- 
ily effects,  and,  selling  his  farm,  he  removed  his  family  to  the 
parsonage  at  Columbus.  Columbus  at  this  time  was  a  thriv- 
ing little  city  on  the  banks  of  the  Chattahoochee.  It  was  at 
the  head  of  navigation,  and  the  cotton  of  the  rich  Western 
counties  found  market  here.  The  little  city  was  only  twenty 
years  old,  and  the  new  church, 'now  St.  Luke's,  had  just  been 
finished.  The  congregations  were  very  large  ;  the  large  au- 
dience-room, galleries,  and  floor-sittings  were  filled  with  an 
attentive  and  intelligent  and  wealthy  congregation.  Dr.  Jesse 
Boring,  one  of  the  most  eloquent  men  in  the  South,  had  just 
left  the  station,  and  it  was  needful  that  the  important  place 
should  be  well  filled,  and  Dr.  Pierce  recognized  the  need 
of  the  Church  as  imperative,  and  bowed  without  question  to 
the  will  of  the  bishop.  He  told  me  that  Bishop  Andrew 
called  him  into  his  room  at  Madison  and  said,  "  George,  I 
am  going  to  send  you  to  Columbus."  "  All  right,  sir,  do  as 
you  please,"  and  so  he  went.  The  readiness  with  which  he 
had  obeyed  at  all  times  made  him  perhaps  a  little  impatient 
in  an  after-day  with  those  who  murmured  at  changes  de- 
manding only  a  small  part  of  the  sacrifice  he  had  so  readily 
made.     He  was  not  long  in  making  the  change,  and  preach- 


158  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.        [(I,U-  VIL 

ing  in  Sparta  on  the  9th  of  January,  he  preached  in  Columbus 
on  the  16th,  and  up  to  August  13th  he  had  preached  nearly 
one  hundred  times.  Bishop  Pierce  at  no  time  of  his  life 
wrote  many  letters  save  to  his  family  and  to  the  Advocate, 
nor  did  he  engage  much  in  controversy  of  any  kind,  so  that 
there  are  periods  of  his  life  in  which  we  have  nothing  written 
by  him,  and  this  is  one.  lie  preached  magnificently  to  great 
congregations  and  attended  to  the  work  of  his  charge  faith- 
fully, and  this  is  about  all  the  record  we  can  make.  He  had 
removed  to  Columbus  with  the  expectation  of  filling  out  his 
term  of  two  years.  For  many  reasons  the  change  from  the 
district  had  been  a  pleasant  one.  In  Wynnton,  a  beau- 
tiful suburb  of  Columbus,  his  father  had  his  home,  and  for 
the  first  time  since  he  was  fifteen  years  old  he  was  able  to  see 
his  mother  almost  daily.  She  was  a  mother  one  would  love 
to  sec.  Ann  Foster  and  Amelia  McFarland,  the  wives  of 
Lovick  Pierce  and  James  O.  Andrew,  have  involved  the 
Church  in  a  debt  it  can  never  pay.  They  did  much  to  make 
the  men  they  married  what  the>-  were  ;  Lovick  Pierce  needed 
■dally  the  cl(  ng,  practical,  every-day  sense  of  the 

gifted  woman  he  married,  as  Andrew  needed  the  stimulus 
of  his  heroic,  ardent,  enthusiastic,  spirited  wife.  If  Ann 
Pierce  had  not  rein. lined  at  home  and  managed  the  affairs  of 
the  Id,  Lovick   Pierce  had   been  compelled  to  have 

given  up  his  field  work,  and  his  life  would  have  been  a  sad 
failure.  Pishop  Pierce  reverenced  and  most  tenderly  loved 
his  mother,  and  he  recognized  the  fact  that  he  was  largely  in- 
debted for  his  every-day  sense  to  her.  She  had  given  up  her 
husband,  her  oldest  son,  her  oldest  daughter,  her  two  young- 
er sons  to  the  service  of  the  Church,  and  gave  them  willingly. 
She  was  not  long  for  this  world  when  her  son  was  appointed 
to  the  church  in  which  her  membership  was  held,  and  it  was  a 
fitting  thing  that  he  should  be  near  her.  But  it  was  not  to 
continue  long,  for  at  the  meeting  of  the  Board  of  Trustees 
in  July,  George  F.  Pierce,  D.D.,  was  elected  as  President  of 
Emory  College. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 
THE  COLLEGE  PRESIDENT,  1849-1854,  AGED  38-43. 

Removal — View  of  Oxford — Professor  Stone,  Dr.  Means,  Dr.  Gaither, 
Bishop  Andrew,  Luther  M.  Smith,  Dr.  Bonnell,  Dr.  Sassnett — Efforts 
to  Build — General  Conference  of  1850 — His  Mother's  Death — Obitu- 
ary Notice — Agricultural  Speech. 

Teaching  was  not  to  Dr.  Pierce  an  inviting  field.  He  loved 
the  pulpit ;  he  did  not  enjoy  the  restraints  of  the  school- 
room. He  had,  at  great  cost  to  himself,  just  settled  down 
near  those  he  loved,  he  hoped  for  at  least  two  years.  He 
had  one  of  the  best  congregations  in  the  South — very  large, 
and  very  highly  cultivated.  It  ran  as  high  as  fifteen  hundred 
on  Sunday.  He  was  the  ruling  spirit  in  a  growing,  thrifty 
city;  the  Church  needed  him  and  valued  him.  His  home  was 
commodious  and  comfortable,  his  salary  ample  and  promptly 
paid  ;  he  was  now  for  the  first  time  in  several  years  able  to  be 
at  home,  but  the  mandate  of  his  brethren  came  and  he  obeyed. 
He  never  spared  himself,  nor  ever  asked  one  to  do  for  the 
Church  what  he  had  not  shown  himself  glad  to  do.  He  was 
elected  president  of  the  college  in  July,  and  in  September  he 
was  at  his  post.  He  spent  a  few  weeks  on  the  way,  visiting 
Sunshine,  and  spending  some  days  at  the  camp-meeting  in 
Hancock ;  at  Sparta  he  preached  on  a  subject  on  which 
he  preached  more  frequently  than  any  other  in  his  minis- 
terial life,  1  Timothy  1  :  16,  "  Prayer  and  preparation  for  it." 
He  never  failed  to  preach  on  this  subject,  and  the  record  of  his 
sermons  shows  that  this  one  text  was  preached  in  almost 
every  congregation  to  which  he  ministered  for  any  length  of 
time.  He  had  some  better  facilities  for  travel  in  1848  than  in 
1838,  but  still  the   removal  from   Columbus  was  made  with 


160  Lije  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.       COhaf.  viil 

considerable  difficulty.  There  were  a  hundred  miles  of  stage 
travel  before  the  railway  was  reached,  and  as  many  of  wagon 
conveyance  for  his  books  and  such  articles  as  were  needful 
to  set  him  up  to  house-keeping  once  more.  By  September 
he  was  in  the  old  home  of  Judge  Longstreet,  in  Oxford,  which 
he  had  bargained  for. 

Oxford,  the  lovely  village  among  the  oaks,  had  grown  up, 
in  the  ten  years  since  the  corner-stone  of  the  first  college 
building  was  laid,  into  quite  a  beautiful  little  hamlet.  Dr. 
Few,  an  old  surveyor,  and  a  man  of  fine  taste,  had  so  laid 
out  the  village  that  all  the  streets  converged  at  the  campus. 
In  these  wide  avenues  the  forest-trees  were  untouched,  and 
on  roomy  lots  the  professor,  and  the  few  families  who  had  re- 
moved to  Oxford  to  educate  their  children,  resided.  There 
were  not  many  more  than  a  score  of  dwellings  in  the  little  vil- 
lage, but  the  number  of  inhabitants  was  largely  increased  by 
the  college  boys,  who  came  in  September  and  remained  till 
the  succeeding  June.  Not  far  from  the  president  lived  Bishop 
Andrew.     When  th  et  back  to  his  home  it 

no  small  pleasure  to  find  George,  as  he  always  called  Dr. 

rce,  his  next-door  neighbor,  and  the  pleasure  was  mutual. 
Just  above  him  lived  his  colleague,  Professor  Stone,  with 
his  gentle  Susan,  the  daughter  of  Bishop  Capers.  Bishop 
Pierce  always  delighted  in  dropping  a  line  into  the  waters, 
and  his  Professor  of  Latin  knew  all  the  sucker-holes  in  the 
Yellow  River  and  kept  them  well  baited,  and  with  amazing 
patience  he  and  his  president  watched  for  the  almost  imper- 
ceptible nibble  of  the  cautious  fish,  while  the  discourse  ran 
on  themes  of  deepest  import.  Dr.  Means  was  then  in  the 
brilliance  of  his  fame  ;  enthusiastic,  warm-hearted,  gentle, 
tender  Dr.  Means,  who  loved  an  adjective  as  he  loved  an  ex- 
periment, and  whose  splendor  of  diction  was  only  equalled  by 
his  fervor  of  declamation  and  his  unquestioned  piety,  lived 
near  him,  and  was  his  Professor  of  Natural  Science. 

Dr.  Gaither,  his  physician,  was  one  of  his  earliest  friends, 
when  they  were  both  young  men  on  the  Alcovi  Circuit.  The 
doctor  was  a  man  of  striking  features,  and   of  unquestioned 


-^  6*t 


C£^r-  c^i~ 


1849-1854.]         ufe  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  161 

intelligence  and  integrity.  Other  friends  were  :  Mrs.  Lamar, 
the  accomplished  and  gifted  mother  of  Judge  L.  Q.  C.  Lamar; 
Professor  J.  M.  Bonnell,  the  gifted  Pennsylvanian  ;  Luther 
M.  Smith,  the  old  student,  the  accomplished  Professor  of 
Greek  ;  and  there  was  elected  to  a  professorship,  while  he 
was  president,  Wm.  J.  Sassnett. 

This  election  added  another  friend  to  his  circle.  Dr. 
Pierce  and  Dr.  Sassnett  had  much  in  common  and  much  out 
of  it.  Sassnett  was  a  radical  in  everything  ;  Pierce  was  a 
conservative  ;  Sassnett  an  enthusiastic  democrat,  Pierce  a 
whig  of  the  old  stripe.  Sassnett  was  fond  of  philosophy,  and 
gave  much  attention  to  the  Germans  and  the  Scotch  ;  Pierce 
abhorred  the  whole  race  of  speculators  and  metaphysicians. 
Practical,  straightforward,  conservative,  he  had  neither  time 
nor  inclination  to  spend  an  hour  with  Fichte,  Lessing,  or 
Herr  Hegel,  and  had  not  much  more  fancy  for  Sir  Thomas 
Browne  or  Sir  William  Hamilton  ;  but  to  Sassnett  a  knotty 
problem  in  philosophy  was  a  precious  morsel.  Despite  all 
these  differences,  the  good  sense  of  the  men  and  their  genuine 
affection  for  each  other  brought  them  close  together. 

His  home  life  in  Oxford,  as  his  home  life  had  been  and  was 
to  be  everywhere,  was  beautiful.  Lovick  was  a  sprightly  lad  ; 
George,  the  bright  son  of  his  brother  James,  was  also  with  him  ; 
Ella,  the  light  of  his  eyes,  his  first-born,  was  now  a  charming 
young  lady  ready  to  go  to  college  in  Macon  ;  Claudia,  a  bright 
little  girl,  and  Mary,  and  Ann  the  baby,  and  the  gentle  wife 
made  a  domestic  circle  which  gladdened  his  heart.  And  he, 
who  had  been  for  so  much  of  the  time  in  the  past  almost  an 
exile  from  them,  could  now  spend  a  little  while  at  home.  He 
was  never  in  his  life  in  easy  circumstances,  for  he  was  so  gen- 
erous, so  concerned  about  others,  so  free  from  secularity,  his 
income  was  so  small,  and  his  demands  so  many,  that  he  was 
pressed  from  these  causes ;  but  a  growing  family  of  young 
negroes  on  the  plantation  had  something  to  do  with  the 
pressure  upon  him  at  Oxford  :  to  sell  them,  he  could  not ; 
to  feed  them  he  must,  and  they  drew  upon  him  heavy  drafts. 

He  had  taken  the  presidency  of  the  college  with  the  ex- 
ii 


102  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.       t('1IA^•■  vm 

pectation  of  preaching  as  much  as  ever,  and  he  never  allowed 
a  Sunday  to  pass  in  which  he  was  not  in  the  pulpit.  He 
made  frequent  excursions  to  places  easily  reached,  and,  preach- 
ing on  Sunday,  returned  to  the  college  to  his  duties.  As 
college  president,  they  were  very  onerous.  The  college  had 
struggled  with  difficulties  from  its  very  birth,  and  its  difficul- 
ties grew  with  its  growth.  Dr.  Few,  from  whose  far-seeing 
wisdom  it  had  sprung  into  existence,  had  been  taken  with 
the  deceitful  mirage  of  interest-bearing  notes,  and  they  had 
been  given  by  the  tens  of  thousand.  The  college  was  built 
and  endowed,  on  paper,  at  its  birth,  but,  alas!  the  interest 
failed  to  come  in,  the  notes  were  not  paid,  and  Emory,  when 
Dr.  Tierce  came,  unendowed,  unequipped,  and  with  buildings 
unsuited  for  her  work,  was  now  burdened  with  debt,  and  em- 
barrassed by  her  narrow  accommodations.  The  new  president 
fell  heir  to  these  embarrassments.  He  set  to  work  at  once  to 
raise  the  means  for  building  a  College  Chapel,  to  cost  $10,- 
ooo.  This  seemed  a  great  Bum  in  those  days,  and  while  there 
were  many  Methodists  in  Georgia  then  who  could  have  given 
it  from  hail' the  proceeds  of  a  single  cotton-crop,  it  required 
a  hard  struggle  to  raise  the  sum.  I  find  in  an  old  book,  in 
his  hand-writing,  the  subscriptions  to  this  building.  The 
largest  is  from  [verson  L.  Graves,  $5°°;  the  next,  Robert 
Toombs,  $ 200. 

The  college  building  was  erected,  alas  !  none  too  well  ;  for 
before  the  death  of  Bishop  Pierce  it  was  torn  to  the  ground, 
and  on  its  foundation  Scney  Hall  was  built.  He  did  not 
teach  constantly,  though  when  he  was  in  Oxford  he  took  his 
regular  turn  in  the  class-room,  and  taught  moral  philosophy 
evidences  and  rhetoric.  He  was  an  admirable  disci- 
plinarian. The  students  always  found  him  approachable  and 
agreeable,  and  all  mere  thoughtless  offences  were  passed  over  ; 
but  meanness,  lying,  and  vice  shrank  away  from  his  pres- 
ence. He  took  much  interest  in  the  religious  work  of  the 
young  men,  and  gracious  revivals  followed  his  earnest  preach- 
ing. The  college  grew,  in  ever)'  way,  while  he  was  in  charge 
of  it. 


WM.  J.  SASSNETT,  D.D. 


1849-1854.1  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce. 


163 


While  he  was  in  Oxford  the  General  Conference  of  1848 
of  the  M.  E.  Church  assembled  in  Pittsburg,  and  Dr.  Lovick 
Pierce  was  the  fraternal  delegate  from  the  M.  E.  Church 
South.  He  was  refused  a  hearing  and,  while  treated  with 
respect,  refused  recognition  as  a  delegate  from  what  was 
called  a  seceding  church. 

In    1850   the  second   General  Conference  of  the   M.   E. 


H.    B.    BASCOM,    D.D. 


Church  South  met  at  St.  Louis.  At  this  Conference  Dr. 
Bascom  was  elected  Bishop.  He  shared  with  Dr.  Pierce  the 
place  of  the  first  preacher  of  the  Southern  Church.  He  pre- 
sided over  one  Conference,  and  then  died.  This  Conference 
adjourned  hastily,  because  of  the  invasion  of  the  cholera,  and 
the  death  of  Isaac  Boring,  a  delegate  from  Georgia.  The 
delegates  were  on  the  way  home,  when  at  Kingston,  in 
Georgia,  where  the  stage  from  the  West  reached  the  railway, 


164  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierre.        IOba*.  viii. 

a  telegram  was  called  out  for  Dr.  Pierce.  It  read,  "  Mrs. 
Ann  Pierce  died  this  morning."  Who  was  the  bereaved ',  the 
father  or  the  son  /  Was  it  the  ivife  of  Dr.  Lovick  Pieree,  or 
of  Dr.  George  Pieree  }  Each  was  named  Ann.  The  fearful 
suspense  lasted  till  they  reached  Atlanta.  The  letter  from  the 
old  doctor  tells  the  sad  story. 

"  Tuesday  Moisting,  May  28,  1850. 

"  Two  weeks  ago,  at  this  hour,  seven  o'clock,  your  excellent 
mother  had  just  closed  her  breakfast  duties.  At  nine  her  life 
closed  in  one  moment.  Then  we  were  in  the  bustle  of  Gen- 
eral Conference,  little  thinking  of  the  sad  event. 

"  This  day  is  one  of  mournful  recollections  to  me.  Weekly, 
monthly,  and  annually,  while  life  lasts,  will  my  mind  turn  to 
this  day,  as  a  day  of  great  bereavement. 

"  It  must  be  gratefully  felt  by  us  all,  that  no  one  has  ever 
died  in  this  place  to  whose  memory  such  suitable  and  Long- 
continucd  memorials  of  sorrow  has  been  paid.  The  church 
is  still  draped  in  deep  mourning.  The  world  and  the  Church 
both  feel  that  your  mother  was  no  ordinary  loss  to  society. 
To  me  her  loss  must  be  irreparable.  Emptiness  must  be 
written  upon  much  of  my  future  life.  What  is  not  filled  with 
God  will  be  largely  vacant.  Ella  will  be  at  your  depot  on 
Sunday  James  will  not  stop.     He  desires  to  be  with 

me  as  long  as  possible.  Oh  !  how  shall  I  spend  my  dreary 
nights  alone  ? 

"  Let  me  know  your  mind  on  the  subject  of  a  monument. 
1  me  will  be  erected,  if  life  lasts  and  heaven  smiles.  The 
monument  is  to  be  erected  of  good  marble  on  a  granite 
foundation,  without  ornament.  On  the  west  face  will  be  as 
follows  : 

Ann  Morton, 

Wii  E 

1  m    Rev.   L.  Pii:rce, 

And  only  daughter  of   Colonel   George  Wells 

and  Elizabeth  Julia  Foster, 
Departed  this  life,  Tuesday,  the  fourteenth  day 


1849-1854.]         ijfe  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  165 

of  May,  eighteen  hundred  and  fifty,  in  the 
sixtieth  year  of  her  age,   having  been  forty- 
three  years  a  faithful  member  of  the  Metho- 
dist Episcopal  Church. 
On  the  south : 

But  when  the  fruit  is  brought  forth,  immediately 
He  putteth  in  the  sickle  because  the  harvest 
is  come.. 
On  the  east : 

Her  children  rise  up  and  call  her  blessed  ;  her 
husband  also,   and  he  praiseth  her.      Prov. 
31  :28. 
On  the  north  : 

The  family's  farewell — Adieu,  till  we  meet  in 
Heaven. 
"Please  write   immediately  if  you  concur,  or  make  any 
new  suggestion.  "  Yours, 

"  L.  Pierce. 

"  You  see,  my  son,  how  my  nerves  are  unstrung.  Will  you 
be  able  to  read  ?  How  shall  a  suitable  obituary  be  written  ? 
Will  you  do  it  ?     I  wish  you  would." 

She  was  indeed  a  worthy  wife  for  so  great  a  man,  and  a 
mother  who  well  deserved  the  tribute  he  paid  in  the  follow- 
ing sketch  of  her  published  in  the  Southern  Christian  Advo- 
cate : 

'  *  Blessed  are  the  dead  who  die  in  the  Lord. 

"  Obituaries  are  not  intended  merely  to  commemorate 
the  private  affection  of  surviving  Triends,  but  to  chronicle  the 
virtues  of  the  departed,  that  though  dead  they  may  still  speak 
for  God  and  goodness. 

"  The  memories  of  the  gifted  and  the  renowned,  whether 
conected  with  the  history  of  empires,  or  the  enterprises 
of  the  Church,  however  interesting  to  read,  often  fail  of 
general  utility,  because  they  present  phases  of  character  and 
standards  of  action,  inimitable  and  impracticable  to  the  major- 


166  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.       [Oka*,  viii. 

ity  of  mankind.  These  examples  stand  out  isolated  in  their 
grandeur — quite  above  and  beyond  the  aims  and  hopes  and 
capacity  of  the  multitude,  and  repress  emulation  by  the  over- 
whelming force  of  humbling,  discouraging  comparison.  But 
when  the  great  elements  of  character — the  radical  principles 
of  a  sanctifying  godliness — the  radiant  virtues  of  a  useful  life 
are  found  blended  with  the  history  of  those  who,  dwelling  in 
life's  sequestered  vales, — move  along  the  noiseless  tenor  of 
their  way,  dispensing  happiness  to  all  around,  uncheered  by 
the  world's  plaudits — faithfully  performing  every  duty, — 
unnoticed  by  the  world's  eye — patiently  bearing  the  varied 
ills  to  which  flesh  is  heir,  without  murmuring  or  complaint, 
then  may  we  hope  that  the  record  which  affection  makes  will 
not  only  embalm  the  excellences  of  the  deceased,  but  furnish 
to  society  motives  to  piety  and  a  model  for  imitation. 

"  It  is  not  my  purpose,  however,  to  write  an  essay  or  a 
eulogy,  but  mournfully  to  record  the  fact  that  my  beloved 
mother,  Mrs.  Ann  M.  Pierce,  is  no  more.  She  departed  this 
life  on  the  14th  May  last,  in  the  sixtieth  year  of  her  age. 
Her  death  was  sudden,  without  premonition,  and  without  time 
for  word  or  sign.  On  the  morning  of  that  day  (so  sad  to  her 
family)  she  was  in  her  usual  health,  and  engaged  with  her 
household  duties.  While  sitting  in  her  chamber,  assisting  her 
daughter  1  Mr-.  Gambrill)  with  some  needle-work,  she  sud- 
denly raised  her  hand,  and  exclaimed,  '  Oh  !  what  a  pain  in 
my  head,'  and  before  the  shriek  of  my  sister's  alarm  could 
summon  another  member  of  the  family,  my  dying  mother  fell 
into  her  arms,  and  the  spirit  was  gone.  My  father  and  myself 
were  at  St.  Louis,  and  it  is  no  small  addition  to  our  grief  that 
we  had  not  the  melancholy  privilege  of  looking  upon  the  face 
of  the  dead,  and  following  the  body  to  the  house  of  earth  and 
silence. 

"  My  mother  was  born  in  Prince  Kdward  County,  Va., 
December,  1790,  but  was  reared  in  Greene  County,  Ga. 
Her  early  education  was  worldly  in  its  nature,  aim,  and  end. 
She  was  gay — fond  of  the  pastimes  of  fashionable  society, 
and  until  her  seventeenth  year,  forgetful  of  God  and  eternity. 


1849-1654.]         life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  167 

In  1807,  at  a  camp-meeting  in  Greene,  she  was  awakened — 
came  to  the  altar  as  a  mourner,  with  heart  subdued  and  re- 
solved, joining  the  church  as  a  seeker — laid  aside  her  orna- 
ments, and  became  Methodist  in  her  attire  and  habits.  For 
weeks  she  sought  the  Lord,  but  found  him  not  till  near  two 
months  after  her  awakening.  She  was  converted  at  a  camp- 
meeting  in  Hancock  County — in  her  father's  tent — at  a  late 
hour  of  the  night,  after  a  struggle  of  intense  penitence  and 
prayer.  Of  this  glorious  event  she  never  doubted.  The 
witness  was  clear,  strong,  permanent — her  joys  full-flowing, 
rapturous.  Her  experience  was  distinguished  for  many  years 
by  the  same  characteristics  which  marked  her  espousals  to 
God. 

"  My  father  and  herself  were  married  on  the  28th  of 
September,  1809.  Henceforth  the  cares  and  anxieties  of 
wedded  life,  augmented  by  her  peculiar  relation  as  the  wife 
of  a  travelling  preacher,  seemed  to  modify  the  expression 
of  her  religious  feeling.  The  joyous  emotion  was  substituted 
by  the  self-denying  principle — the  gushing  raptures  of  per- 
sonal assurance  by  sympathetic  yearnings  for  the  good  of 
others.  The  spirit  of  self-sacrifice,  prompted  by  natural 
nobleness  and  love,  and  consecrated  by  grace  and  devotion 
was  never  more  beautifully  illustrated — more  perseveringly 
sustained  than  by  my  now  sainted  mother.  She  did  not  live 
unto  herself.  Her  family — the  Church,  the  poor,  the  orphan 
— absorbed  her  sympathies,  and  appopriated  her  toils.  Kind- 
ness which  never  calculated,  save  for  the  purpose  of  judi- 
cious distribution  ;  self-denial  which  never  faltered  at  cost  or 
trouble,  or  sought  relief  and  exemption  by  pleading  the  sacri- 
fices of  the  past — forgetfulness  of  self  amid  the  checkered 
scenes  of  a  history  familiar  with  disappointments  ;  and  some- 
times made  yet  more  sad  by  afflictions — these,  with  all  the  kin- 
dred virtues  of  a  noble  heart  and  a  holy  life,  formed  the  staple 
of  her  experience,  and  the  manifestations  of  her  character. 
With  a  mind  singularly  quick  in  its  perceptions,  originating, 
inventive,  and  practical,  she  was  a  counsellor  in  embarrass- 
ments   whose  judgment  demanded   respect — fertile    in   ex- 


168  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.       [Ohaf.  via 

pedient,  she  triumphed  over  difficulty — buoyant  with  hope 
and  indomitable  in  energy,  though  sometimes  cast  down,  yet 
when  all  others  gave  up  in  despair,  she  rallied,  and  planned, 
and  succeeded.  Restricted  in  her  resources,  her  prolific  econ- 
omy multiplied  a  scanty  income  to  sufficiency,  and  made 
her  home  a  retreat  where  plenty  smiled  and  comfort  dwelt. 
Xow,  how  dark  that  home  without  the  Light  of  her  counte- 
nance !  How  lonely  he  who,  himself  old  and  decaying, 
mourns  the  wife  of  his  youth,  the  joy  of  his  life,  the  solace  of 
his  age  !  How  bereaved  are  we,  the  children  of  such  a 
mother  ?  Hut  we  will  hope  and  rejoice,  even  while  we  suffer. 
Thy  dead  shall  livt  again. \ 

11  As  a  travelling  preacher's  wife,  my  mother  was  a  pat- 
tern without  spot  or  blemish.  Though  my  father  had  never 
moved  his  family,  yet  the  Methodists  and  people  of  Georgia 
will  bear  him  witness  that  no  member  of  the  Conference  has 
been  less  restricted  in  his  work,  or  more  prompt  to  his  ap- 
pointments. 1  have  heard  him  say,  that  in  the  last  thirty 
years  he  had  been  absent  from  home  on  ministerial  duty  full 
\  >r  is  this  conjecture  an  exaggeration.     Her  motto 

,  a  full  amount  of  disappointments — and  fill  them  by  all 
means.  Neither  business,  nof  affection,  nor  inconvenience 
was  ever  allowed  to  interfere  with  the  gospel  call  and  the 
preacher's  duty.  No  real  indisposition  or  anticipated  sick- 
ness sho,,k  her  steady  purpose  never  to  be  in  the  way  of  the 
work  of  God.  No  capricious  fears,  no  selfish  demands,  no 
womanly  weeping  delayed  the  time  of  departure.  The  early 
breakfast,  the  packed  trunk,  the  preparation  of  all  needful 
things,  told  of  her  presiding  care,  and  her  cheerful  submission 
to  sacrifice  for  Christ's  sake.  She  gave  her  husband  and  three 
sons  to  the  work  of  the  ministry,  and  often  exhorted  us  in  her 
brief,  but  impressive  way,  to  fidelity.  The  memory  of  her  ad- 
vice was  precious  while  she  lived,  and,  more  consecrated  by 
her  death,  it  recurs,  mingled  with  tender  recollections  and 
sanctified  by  the  hope  of  reunion  in  heaven. 

"The  deceased  had  been  a  member  of  the  Church  forty- 
three  years.     Always  consistently  pious  and  devoted,  since 


1849-1854.]  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce. 


169 


her  children  came  to  years  and  she  had  more  leisure  for  read- 
ing and  less  anxiety  to  provide,  she  became  more  and  more 
filled  with  God.  There  was  a  heavenly  ripening  in  her  faith 
and  feelings,  the  world  dwindled  to  a  speck  and  heaven  filled 
the  field  of  vision.  This  calm,  steady  confidence — the  mel- 
lowness of  Christian  affection — was  manifest  to  all  in  her  love- 
feast  and  class-meeting  conversation.  In  the  class  on  the 
Saturday  before  her  death  it  is  said  there  was  an  unearthly 
glow  upon  her  face  as  she  talked  of  God  and  grace — herself 
and  her  prospects.  In  the  moment  of  dissolution  it  rekindled, 
and  rested  upon  the  coffined  sleeper  when  she  was  borne  to 
the  tomb.  Blessed  light  of  Christian  joy — calm  sunshine  of 
gospel  peace — a  stricken  household  hails  the  symbol — type 
of  a  purified  soul,  and  a  world  without  sorrow,  tear,  or 
change.  "  G.  F.   Pierce." 

But  she  was  safe,  and  he  went  on  with  his  work.  He 
succeeded  at  last  in  getting  a  sufficient  subscription  for  the 
new  building,  and  in  1852  he  laid  the  foundation  of  the  new 
chapel.  He  made  the  address  on  laying  the  corner-stone.  It 
is  found  in  the  "  Lectures  and  Addresses." 

To  those  who  do  not  have  access  to  this  volume,  a  few 
extracts  from  this  able  and  beautiful  speech  are  due.     He  says  : 

"Emory  College  originated  in  a  popular  necessity.  It 
was  demanded  by  the  wants  of  the  people.  It  was  not  a 
sectarian  scheme  to  promote  a  denominational  interest,  though 
justified  by  the  mission  of  the  Church  and  imperiously  neces- 
sary to  the  discharge  of  her  high  obligation.  In  these  days 
of  light  and  progress  and  achievement  the  Christian  com- 
munity, failing  to  occupy  with  her  own  instrumentality  that 
preliminary  ground  where  opinions  are  formed  and  character 
moulded,  and  over  which  it  is  the  province  of  education  to 
preside,  must  inevitably  grow  imbecile,  effete,  and  disrepu- 
table. 

"Born  and  reared  in  the  good  old  commonwealth,  I  love 
her  soil,  her  institutions,  and  her  people  ;  her  progress  delights 
me,  her  growing  cities,  her  improving  agriculture,  her  thrift 


170  Life  and  Tunes  of  George  F.  Pierce.       tc,IAP-  vm. 

her  intelligence,  her  buoyant  step  in  the  pathway  of  aggran- 
dizement and  renown,  as  Samson  said  of  the  Philistine  maid, 
1  please  me  well ; '  the  ninth  State  in  the  Union  in  respect  to  pop- 
ulation, the  sixth  in  the  area  of  her  square  miles,  the  third  in 
the  number  and  length  of  her  railroads  ;  almost  equal  to  any 
in  her  manufacturing  enterprise;  first,  foremost,  best,  ahead 
of  all  her  sisters  in  the  number  and  character  of  her  semina- 
ries of  learning.      But  how  came  she  so  ?    Who  put  her  in  this 
proud  position  as  to  the  number  of  her  literary  institutions  ? 
It  was  not  her  legislation,  not  her  politicians,  not  her  mass- 
meetings  or   party   conventions.     No,  but  her  Christian  de- 
nominations.        .  .  .  ..... 

"  The  first  quickening  impulse  on  the  inert  mass,  the 
first  breath  of  life  on  the  valley  of  dry  bones,  the  first  bold, 
robust,  expansive  movement  is  to  be  traced  to  the  leading 
churches  of  Georgia — their  synods,  associations,  and  confer- 
ences. The  Methodists,  true  to  the  spirit  and  plan  of  the 
venerable  founder,  marched  abreast  with  the  foremost  in  this 
conservative  enterprise.  The  Rev.  Jesse  Mercer,  honored 
be  his  memory,  by  a  munificent  bequest,  endowed  a  Baptist 
University,  which  bears  his  name.  The  Presbyterians, never 
behind  where  learning  is  concerned,  bestirred  themselves,  and 
Oglethorpe  rose  from  the  ground.  Nor  were  these  schemes 
effected  without  opposition  ;  the  friends  of  the  State  College 
were  alarmed  lest  thee  rival  institutions  should  drain  its 
patronage  and  alienate  the  confidence  of  the  country.  Sec- 
tarianism, priestly  intrigue,  church  bigotry,  were  dreaded 
and  denounced.  Mistaken  men  !  we  but  meant  to  do  our 
duty,  and  bless  our  country.  Injure  Franklin  College  !  we 
never  designed  nor  wished  it,  nor  have  we  done  it.  Yet 
perhaps  the  groundless  apprehension  itself  has  been  useful. 
Her  exclusive  friends  have  been  rallied,  their  zeal  renewed — 
and  the  result,  a  comparative  revival  of  the  institution.  The 
old  eagle  has  moulted  and  renewed  her  youth.  She  never 
thrived  so  well.  Once  alone  on  the  eyry,  on  the  rolling 
Oconee,  she  drooped  solitary  and  sad.  No  kindred  pinion 
fanned    the   air;     but  when    Oglethorpe,    and     Mercer,   and 


1849-1854.]         nfe  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  171 

Emory  spread  their  wings  and  began  to  soar,  she  saw,  and 
competition  waked  her  ancient  ambition.  Together  let  them 
rise,  and  blasted  be  the  archer  whose  envious  arrow  plucks 
a  feather  from  their  glory." 

It  is  difficult  to  make  extracts  from  this  admirable  ad- 
dress. The  views  of  the  doctor  are  certainly  decidedly  op- 
posed to  the  views  which  are  now  received  as  almost  univer- 
sally true  in  America.  He  was  pronounced  in  his  opposition 
to  even  the  poor-school  system,  much  more  so  to  the  common- 
school  system,  believing  that  the  people  ought  to  be  edu- 
cated, but  neither  by  charity  nor  by  the  State.  He  believed 
that  in  the  then  condition  of  things  there  was  too  much  igno- 
rance to  desire  an  education  if  it  was  freely  offered. 

"  Ignorance,"  he  says,  "is  in  every  county,  lives  in  the 
shadow  of  our  court-houses,  within  sound  of  our  college 
bells — ay,  sits  upon  the  tripod  and  waves  the  imperial 
birch  in  all  the  pride  of  power,  or  struts  in  the  majesty  of  the 
tyrant  of  the  log-cabin,  the  terror  and  curse  of  the  trembling 
school-child. 

"  Schools,  originating  in  the  felt  wants,  the  active  con- 
victions of  the  people,  will  sustain  themselves  by  virtue  of 
the  circumstances  which  bring  them  into  being.  The  process 
is  slow,  but  healthful  and  sound,  and  in  the  lapse  of  time 
events  will  bring  about  the  consummation  at  which  we  aim. 
It  cannot  be  greatly  accelerated  by  any  mechanical,  arbi- 
trary system,  without  violating  the  logical  consequences  of 
events,  and  producing  a  precocious  state  of  society  full  of  mis- 
chief in  tendency  and  in  fact.          ...... 

"  A  great  public  charity  which  provides  indiscriminately 
for  the  poor  is  a  social  and  political  evil.  .... 

"  An  established  provision  under  authority  of  law  for  the 
education  of  children  corrupts  the  parents  by  diluting  the 
sense  of  responsibility,  and  defrauds  the  child  of  a  sympathy 
which  none  but  a  parent  can  feel."         ..... 

The  education  of  the  people,  he  says,  must  begin  at  the 
top. 

"  Let  the  State,"  he  says,  "  foster  her  State  College  and 


172  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.       &***  VUI 

the  denominations  rally  to  their  respective  institutions,  and 
those  agents,  with  their  annually  increasing  force,  will  cultivate 
the  land,  the  wilderness  become  a  garden,  and  the  Empire 
State  of  the  South  set  as  a  Kohinoor  in  her  queenly  diadem 
of  the  Republic." 

His  old  student,  Rev.  Dr.  W.  C.  Bass,  longtime  President 
of  the  Wesleyan  College,  says  of  him  in  a  memorial  address  : 

"  His  influence  over  students  as  a  college  president  can 
hardly  be  estimated.  In  the  pulpit,  in  the  class-room,  in  the 
social  circle,  his  words  were  full  of  wisdom,  and  never  failed 
to  produce  an  impression  on  the  young  who  were  fortunate 
enough  to  be  under  his  tuition.  He  was  not  a  teacher  of  text- 
books— that  was  irksome  work  to  him — but  he  was  a  great 
moulder  of  character,  and  never  failed  to  influence  the  des- 
tiny of  his  pupils,  The  undecided  and  wavering  student  was 
stimulated  and  encouraged — the  young  man  pausing  on  life's 
threshold,  and  hesitating  as  to  a  vocation,  found  in  him  a  safe 
counsellor  and  friend.  He  seemed  to  know  character  intui- 
tively, and  could  almost  prophetically  forecast  the  future  of 
those  committed  to  his. care. 

"  Students  found    in  him  a   tender  elder  brother,  sympa- 
thizing with  their  perplexities  and   ever  ready  to  relieve  their 
anxieties.       To  poor  young    men    he    was  a   Christian   bene 
factor.      He   always  had   a  place  for  them  in  his  heart  and  in 
his  home. 

"  The  home-life  of  Bishop  Pierce  was  in  perfect  harmony 
with  the  teachings  of  God's  Word.  He  was,  at  home,  with 
his  wife  and  children  and  grandchildren,  a  pattern  of  cheer, 
ful  piety.  He  taught  religion  and  offered  daily  in  his  house- 
hold the  morning  and  evening  sacrifice,  but  best  of  all  he 
illusrated  religion  in  his  life.  His  home  was  an  earthly  para- 
dise. Innocence  and  love  were  twin  sisters  whose  presence 
always  made  his  home  happy.  Kindness,  gentleness,  for- 
bearance, tempered  the  firmness  of  the  father,  and  discipline 
was  administered  so  quietly  and  so  wisely  that  the  youngest 
child  yielded  a  cheerful  obedience  to  authority. 

"  This  pattern    father   secured   the   confidence   of  his  off- 


WM.  C.    BASS,    D.  D. 

Prest.  Wesleyan  Female  College. 


1849-1854.]         ufe  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  173 

spring,  and  they  looked  upon  him  not  only  as  a  loving  father 
but  as  a  wise  and  sympathetic  friend.  The  youngest  child 
loved  and  trusted  him,  the  oldest  revered  and  honored  him. 
He  loved  his  home,  though  so  much  of  his  life  was  spent 
away  from  it.  Of  the  strongest  domestic  attachments,  his 
long  absences  from  home  were  keenly  felt.  Yet  such  were 
his  views  of  duty  that  he  never  hesitated  when  the  time  came 
for  him  to  undertake  his  longest  journeys.  His  faithful  and 
beloved  wife,  who  now  mourns  in  widowhood,  was  so  well  in 
accord  with  his  views,  and  so  conscientious  in  respecting  them, 
that  she  never  murmured  at  the  frequent  partings  and  long 
separations,  though  they  robbed  her  of  the  sweetest  earthly 
enjoyment.  So  diligently  had  he  trained  his  household  in 
the  ways  of  piety  that  there  was  a  cheerful  acquiescence  on 
the  part  of  young  and  old  in  all  the  requirements  which  official 
or  religious  duty  imposed." 

His  college  life  in  Oxford  was  perhaps  the  happiest  period 
of  his  domestic  life,  if  happiness  is  to  be  measured  by  freedom 
from  heavy  care  ;  he  was  in  buoyant  spirits,  in  perfect  health ; 
his  children  were  as  yet  children  ;  his  social  surroundings  were 
congenial  and  delightful.  He  was  succeeding  in  his  plans  for 
putting  the  college  on  a  firm  foundation.  He  was  having  a 
moulding  influence  on  the  young'  men  of  Georgia  and  the 
South,  and  blessed  revivals  followed  his  labors.  While  he 
was  in  Oxford  he  was  invited  to  deliver  the  address  before  the 
Georgia  Agricultural  Society.  At  that  time  the  society  con- 
fined itself  to  the  one  object  for  which  it  had  been  organized, 
and  was  simply  an  agricultural  and  mechanical  exhibit.  Its 
fairs  were  such  as  a  Christian  man  could  indorse.  Racing  and 
gambling  were  strictly  eschewed.  He  had  much  interest  in 
them  and  helped  them.  He  was  invited  to  deliver  an  address, 
and  did  so.  Mark  A.  Cooper,  R.  Y.  Harris,  and  D.  W. 
Lewis  were  a  committee  who  invited  him  to  publish  his  ad- 
dress. It  is  not  found  in  his  sermons  and  addresses,  and  I 
give  some  extracts  from  it. 

"  Encouragement  meets  you  everywhere  in  a  thousand 
forms.    The  generous  earth  responds  in  increased  productive- 


174  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.       [Chap,  viil 

ness  to  the  farmer  who  pours  back  upon  her  bosom  the  elements 
of  which  improvidence  had  bereaved  her.  The  '  old  red 
hills  '  are  beginning  to  change  color,  to  moult  and  renew 
their  youth.  The  unseemly  gullies  that  yawned  in  ugliness 
and  abandonment  are  filling  up  and  smoothing  their  wrinkled 
faces,  and  the  forsaken  fields  rejoice  once  more  with  the 
rustling  corn  and  the  waving  harvest.  Even  the  lands  now 
thrown  out  as  commons  will  cover  their  nakedness,  and 
shame  with  an  evergreen  forest  which,  however  ridiculed  and 
despised  as  the  proof  of  sterility,  will,  nevertheless,  in  the 
lapse  of  years,  through  nature's  mysterious  recuperative  pro- 
cesses, repair  the  ruin  wrought  by  a  barbarous  civilization, 
and  yield  bread  in  plenty  to  our  enlightened  posterity. 

"  It  is,  moreover,  a  cheering  indication  that  the  people 
come  with  spirit  and  enthusiasm  to  these  annual  gatherings, 
as  to  a  festival.  Interest  is  excited,  ambition  roused,  emula- 
tion at  work.  Society  feels  a  quickening  impulse.  The  vil- 
lage is  alive,  the  city  stirs,  the  country  is  awakened.  Parents 
and  children  mingle  with  new  zest  in  household  cheer — the 
sweet  interchanges  of  domestic  confidence  and  love — as  the 
anticipated  pleasure  comes  on.  The  fair  is  a  gala-day  for  all 
the  land.  And  if  these  exhibitions  served  no  higher  purpose 
than  to  afford  a  brief  relief  to  the  oppressed  man  of  business 
— a  day  of  respite  from  brain-toil  to  the  overworked  student 
— an  hour's  forgetfulness  of  himself  and  his  infirmities  to  the 
weary,  languid  invalid — or  taught  the  dull  misanthrope  that 
the  great  heart  of  humanity,  on  all  fit  occasions,  pulsates  with 
a  kindred  throb,  they  would  still  have  their  moral  uses,  and 
the  benefits  would  compensate  the  expenditure.  But  they 
rise  into  much  more  striking  significance  when  we  remember 
that  they  combine  utility  with  enjoyment,  and  arc  intended 
to  reflect  honor  upon  that  pursuit  which  underlies  all  the  real 
prosperity  of  the  country.  The  people  have  turned  away 
from  party  strife  and  political  conflicts,  to  contend  in  friendly 
rivalry  for  the  prizes  of  skilful  industry.  The  statesman  and 
the  divine,  the  planter  and  the  artisan,  hoary  age  and  ruddy 
youth,  sire  and   son,   matron  and  maid,   are  all  here   to  do 


1849-1854]         Ljfe  and  Tinies  of  George  F.  Pierce.  175 

reverence  to  the  dignity  of  labor.  'It  is  a  great  republican 
demonstration  of  the  genius  of  our  government,  of  the  spirit 
of  the  people,  of  the  capacity  of  man,  of  the  obligations  of 
society  to  skill  and  toil.  I  have  attended  on  several  of  these 
occasions,  and,  in  common  with  the  crowd,  have  found  much 
in  every  department  to  gratify  taste  and  swell  the  heart  with 
hope  in  the  contemplation  of  the  future  ;  but  I  have  thought 
the  people  themselves,  in  their  sobriety,  intelligence,  and  ele- 
gance, clad  in  the  gay  habiliments  of  peace,  mingling  in  the 
salutations  and  sympathies  of  polite  and  polished  intercourse, 
the  most  impressive  argument,  the  proudest  exhibition  for 
the  honor  of  the  State.  Look  out  upon  this  eager,  interested, 
waving  multitude,  and  you  see  the  heads  and  hands  that 
have  made  this  old  commonwealth  an  empire ;  an  empire, 
not  by  the  addition  of  territory,  not  by  the  glory  of  battle, 
the  pomp  of  war  and  victory,  not  by  the  death  of  liberty  and 
the  gorgeous  coronation  of  the  assassin  who  struck  the  fatal 
blow — no,  but  by  the  arrest  of  emigration,  the  wise  investment 
of  capital,  the  resuscitation  of  exhausted  land,  the  division  of 
labor,  internal  improvements,  sagacious  legislation,  and  the 
general  diffusion  of  knowledge. 

"  Every  agricultural  product,  every  manufactured  article, 
every  artistic  creation,  every  invention,  however  simple,  is 
an  argument  for  liberty  and  a  blessing  to  labor.  They  illus- 
trate the  social  and  political  principles  of  our  country,  and 
prove  what  unrestricted  and  independent  effort  can  do,  when 
protected  in  person  and  property  by  equal  laws  and  a  benefi- 
cent government.  They  are  contributions  to  the  national 
income  and  wealth,  and  to  the  exports  of  commerce,  which 
often  confound  the  forecast  of  the  theorizing  politician  and 
not  infrequently  forestall  the  disasters  which  an  ill-judged 
and  erring  statesmanship  would  entail  upon  the  land.  They 
are  themselves  of  the  highest  order  of  practical  statesman- 
ship, and  accomplish  what  no  system  of  revenue,  no  policy, 
no  administration  can  do  in  settling  questions  of  currency, 
by  the  creation  of  value,  by  their  effect  upon  the  great  law  of 
supply  and  demand,  and  by  fixing  the  relation  of  capital  and 


176  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce,       &***•  VIH 

labor,  the  distribution  of  interest  and  wages.  They  speak 
what  the  French  savants  propose  in  vain — to  provide  for  the 
human  race  an  universal  language  ;  a  language  known  and 
read  of  all  men.  Its  alphabet  is,  progress  and  comfort;  its 
science,  wealth  and  power  ;  and  its  consummation,  univer- 
sal peace  and  universal  brotherhood.  These  improvements 
dignify  labor,  ennoble  the  heart  and  hand,  reveal  the  fact 
that  human  interests  are  interwoven  and  that  selfishness  is  a 
crime  and  a  curse,  exalt  the  masses,  by  converting  the  very 
necessities  of  their  condition  into  a  blessing,  through  edu- 
cated effort,  and  by  making  toil  itself  the  minister  of  present 
wants  and  the  security  of  future  supply.  Let  knowledge  and 
virtuous  industry  and  enterprise  go  through  the  land  and 
plead,  as  they  will  do,  in  the  eloquence  of  personal  inde- 
pendence and  household  comfort-*  and  the  provision,  main- 
tenance, and  education  of  children,  and  they  will  plant  the 
civil  institutions  of  the  country  on  a  firmer  basis,  and  be- 
come the  most  potent  auxiliaries  of  the  academy,  the  press, 
and  the  pulpit,  in  introducing  and  establishing  the  reign  of 
truth  and  benevolence.  Rome  voted  triumphs  to  her  victo- 
rious generals,  red  with  the  blood  of  conquests  and  fresh 
from  the  carnage  of  nations — let  us  decree  a  triumph  to 
mechanical  genius,  to  agricultural  science,  and  build  a  crys- 
tal palace,  where  beauty  may  come  with  her  smile,  genius 
with  its  poem,  eloquence  with  its  oration,  piety  with  its  love 
to  God  and  man,  and  do  reverence  to  industry  and  its  fruits, 
art  and  its  creations,  humanity,  its  fraternal  sympathies  and 
its  boundless  hopes. 

"  Agriculture  needs  no  eulogy.  As  long  as  men  love  bread 
it  will  need  no  advocate.  It  feeds  the  world.  Without  it 
the  sails  of  commerce  would  rot  in  idleness,  factories  stand 
'-till  for  lack  of  work  to  do,  cities  perish,  and  the  race  of 
man  cease  to  be.  To  '  dress  and  keep  '  the  garden  of  Eden 
was  man's  primeval  employment  ;  to  '  subdue  the  earth,' 
his  divinely  appointed  task.  As  the  great  provider  of  the 
raw  material  of  human  subsistence  and  industry — without 
which  neither  commerce  nor  manufactories    could  exist — it 


1849-1854.]         nfe  and  Times  0f  George  F.  Pierce.  177 

has  not  only  been  the  most  universal  employment  of  man, 
but  has  enlisted  the  solicitude  and  protection  of  government 
in  every  age  of  the  world.  It  is  a  very  significant  fact,  full 
of  encouragement  to  us,  who  live  under  the  freest  and  most 
benign  institutions  of  Christendom,  that  this  great  interest 
has  always  flourished  most  in  those  nations  most  distinguish- 
ed for  the  freedom  of  their  constitution,  the  grandeur  of 
their  achievements,  and  the  liberality  of  their  public  policy. 
No  vocation  can  show  a  longer  catalogue  of  historic  names, 
from  Adam,  the  first  man,  down  to  the  three  great  political 
lights  whose  recent  setting  has  left  our  American  heavens 
in  darkness.  To  own  land  is  almost  an  instinctive  wish  of 
human  nature.  Men  of  all  professions,  amid  their  toil  and 
care,  look  forward  to  the  quiet  of  the  country  and  its  inno- 
cent pursuits  as  a  desirable  refuge.  The  statesman,  on  whose 
broad  shoulders  hung  the  nation's  honor  and  the  nations's 
weal,  has  rejoiced  to  throw  off  the  burden  and  to  seek  in  the 
bosom  of  his  family,  amid  his  fields  and  flocks  and  herds, 
the  fidelity  and  affection  which  he  did  not  always  find  in 
public  life.  The  warrior,  all  covered  with  the  glory  of  a 
triumphant  campaign,  has  retired  to  the  solitude  of  rural  em- 
ployments, where,  safe  from  '  war's  alarms,'  he  might  repose 
in  peace  and  plenty.  The  poet,  wearied  with  the  world — 
'the  proud  man's  contumely,  the  oppressor's  wrong' — goes 
forth  to  commune  with  nature  in  her  teachings,  and,  in  the 
shade  of  the  paternal  roof-tree,  pours  forth  the  inspiration  of 
his  sweetest  song.  The  orator,  long  tossed  upon  the  waves 
of  stormy  debate,  worn  and  exhausted  by  the  toil  of  the 
hustings,  the  forum,  and  the  legislative  hall,  retreats  to  un- 
bend his  overtasked  intellect  and  to  refresh  his  jaded  spirits 
amid  the  green  pastures  and  sportive  winds  of  his  country- 
home.  Devotion,  too,  luxuriates  in  retirement  from  'city 
full,'  from  life's  cumbering  cares,  and  finds  in  the  quiet  hush, 
the  Sabbath  stillness  which  rest  on  hill  and  vale,  the  witchery 
of  the  world  dissolving,  and  the  spirit  grow  strong  in  the 
raptures  of  high  communion. 

"  It  is  historically  true,  I  believe,  that  no  purely  agricult- 


ITS  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.       [Chap.  viii. 

ural  country  has  been  great,  prosperous,  and  powerful.  But 
the  sun,  in  his  circuit,  never  looked  upon  a  continent  which 
afforded  the  same  encouragement  and  facilities  for  the  high- 
est perfection  of  the  art  as  our  own  happy  land.  Yet,  with 
all  its  advantages,  agriculture,  even  here,  must  depend  for  its 
profits,  not  upon  the  simple  productions  of  the  ground,  how- 
ever abundant,  but  on  their  marketable  value.  The  want  of 
a  market  for  the  surplus  produce  of  the  farm  has  been,  in 
many  sections,  the  incubus  on  the  earnings  of  Southern  hus- 
bandry. Railroads  and  factories  arc  fast  removing  this  ob- 
struction, and  the  stimulus  is  felt  in  the  increased  cultivation 
of  every  article  of  consumption.  A  yet  further  division  of 
labor  is  necessary,  and  the  Southern  States,  with  that  great 

pie  which  is  all  her  own,  might  not  only  control  the  ex- 
change and  commerce  of  Europe  and  America,  but  make  of 
themselves  a  power  to  be  felt  and  feared  in  the  councils  of 
the  countr\-  and  the  intercourse  of  nation-.  And  though  it 
is  said  the  world  i-  banded  against  us,  yet,  by  a  wise  use  of 
the  means  which  God  and  nature  has  put  into  our  hands,  by 
bcin  and    faithful   to  our  duties,   we  may 

defy  our  enemies,  and,  in  default  of  their  respect,  send  them 
naked  through  the  earth  ;  for  if  the  corn  of  Egypt  in  the 
n  time  fed  the  world,  it  is  the  glory  of  the  South  that  her 
cotton  clothes  it.  This  is  our  defence.  I  need  not  exhort  a 
Georgia  audience  to  stand  by  their  arm-.  .... 

"  First,  let  us  reform  the  agricultural  system,  which 
makes  cotton  to  buy  everything  el^e,  and  thus  every  year 
transfers  from  the  State  the  annual  increase  which  ought  to 
remain  in  the  form  of  capital.  If  our  great  staple  had  not 
become  the  currency  of  the  world,  the  great  medium  of  ex- 
change, we  should  long  since  have  been  impoverished  and 
ruined.  The  strongest  evidence  of  the  capacity  of  our  soil  to 
produce,  and  of  the  industry  of  the  people,  and  the  most 
overwhelming  demonstration  of  what  Georgia  might  be,  un- 
der a  well-regulated  system  of  farming,  is  to  be  found  in  the 
fact  that,  under  a  mode  of  cultivation  which  exhausts  land 
a  plantation-economy  which  consumes  income,  we  have 


1849-1854.]         iife  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  179 

lived  and  prospered.     When  we  learn  to  produce  what  we 
consume,  raise    our  hogs,  our  mules,  our  horses,   and  have 
breadstuff  to  sell  under  every  season  (albeit  the  cotton-crop 
may  be  shortened),  we  shall  nevertheless  live  better,  save 
more  money,  regenerate  our  lands  with  more  rapidity,  and  be 
a  richer  and   a  happier  people.     A  change  is  demanded  by 
sound  economy  ;  for  the  waste  of  soil,  the  exhaustion  of  land, 
consequent  upon  the  culture  of  cotton,  as  now  conducted,  is 
not  compensated  by  the  annual  increase,  encumbered  as  that 
is  by  an  enormous  tax  for  family  consumption  and  plantation 
supplies.     The  process  really  involves  an  annual  .diminution 
of  capital  and   a  positive  waste  of  income.      But   for  the  nat- 
ural increase  of  property,  and  the  remunerating  prices  of  cot- 
ton for  the  last  few  years,  many  of  the  large  planters  of  this 
country  would  actually  have  grown  poor.      On  all  such  plan- 
tations the    evil  compounds  itself,  for  the  demand    for  con- 
sumption   increases  while  production   diminishes.   .  Negroes 
multiply  and  the  land  yields  less  and   less.     The  squealing 
pigs    cry,   '  corn,  corn,  corn,'  and   the    thriftless   master    re- 
sponds with  cotton-seed,  or    turns   them  into    an    old    pine- 
thicket  and  says,  now  '  root  or  die.'     The  lowing  cows  chew 
the  cud  of  bitter  meditation,  and  wonder  at  the   folly  which 
pulls  at  their  empty  udders  night  and  morning,  while  there  is 
neither  grass  in  the  field,  nor   shucks  in  the  pen,  nor  hay  in 
the  stall.     The  patient  mule,  who  with  all  his  reputed  stu- 
pidity is  yet  something    of  a  philosopher,   drags  his  weary 
length  along,  gravely  speculating  upon  the  mad  inconsistency 
of  expecting  a  good  day's  ploughing  out  of  his  hungry  anat- 
omy.        .......  .... 

"But  this  emigration  from  the  country  to  the  towns  in- 
flicts this  injury — that  it  abandons  agriculture  to  overseers 
and  to  negroes  ;  the  former,  however  respectable  as  a  class, 
having  no  interest  beyond  their  wages,  and  the  latter  none 
beyond  their  maintenance.  Improvement  on  this  plan  is  an 
impossibility,  and  dilapidation  inevitable.  The  owner's  au- 
thority and  intelligence  and  supervision  are  necessary  to  de- 
velop this  noble  art.     Agriculture,  if  profitable,    I  know  is 


180  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.       [Chap.  viii. 

not  a  pastime  ;  but  it  ought  not  to  be  rejected  because  of  its 
sweat,  and  dust,  and  toil,  as  if  it  had  no  charms  beyond  its 
gains,  no  pleasure  besides  the  joy  of  possession.  If  we  ex- 
pect to  ennoble  and  elevate  it,  we  must  associate  it  with 
science,  intelligence,  and  taste  ;  throw  round  it  the  attraction 
of  cottages,  and  gardens,  and  flower-beds,  and  orchards. 
The  farmer's  dwelling  must  become  the  home  of  hospitality, 
and  knowledge,  and  refinement.  Hut  while  the  gin-house  is 
the  best  house  on  the  premises,  the  cotton-blossom  the  only 
flower  that  throws  its  fragrance  on  the  air,  a  worm-fence— the 
unsightliest  thing  in  all  the  land,  except  the  drunkard,  whose 
reeling  pace  it  most  resembles — the  only  enclosure,  who 
could  admire  a  country-home  and  a  farmer's  life  ?  If  I  were 
a  worn. in  I  should  hate  cotton  from  seed  to  lint,  unless  my 
husband  would  provide  better  for  me  and  my  children  than 
he  did  for  it.  When  I  looked  at  my  comfortless  habitation 
and  through  the  cracks  on  every  side  discerned  the 

well-framed  gin  ':.  ad  the  towering  screw,  with  its  long 

.inns  stretched  qut,  as  if  to  grasp  in  all  the  plantation,  my 
jealousy  would  burn  with  rage.  By  the  way,  if  the  ladies 
would  deliver  to  their  lords  some  of  those  well-timed  lectures 
which  thc>-  know  so  well  how  to  make,  they  might  contribute 
reformation  which  would  beautify  the  land  and  greatly 
multiply  their  own  enjoyments. 

"  I  am  not  the  advocate  of  show,  parade,  or  extravagance  ; 
I  care  not  to  see  palaces  or  mansions,  but  I  would  like  to  see 
neatness  and  taste  presiding  over  all  the  yards,  and  gardens, 
ami  houses  of  our  country-population.  The  love  of  the 
beautiful    ought  to  be   cultivated,  not  only  as  it   may  afford 

•ification  to  the  eye.  but  as  a  moral  sentiment — the  friend 
of  virtue  and  the  foe  of  vice.  Home  should  be  associated  in 
the  experience  and  memory  of  childhood  with  all  that  is 
lovely  and  attractive — flowers,  and  music,  and  love.  The 
vine  over  the  door,  the  evergreen  in  the  yard,  the  flower  in 
the  window,  which  so  often  gladdened  with  its  hue  and  its 
odor,  the  gravelled  walk,  the  sports  in  the  garden  and  the 
field,  all  consecrated  by  parental  love  and  domestic  bliss,  are 


1849-1854. j  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  181 

images  of  purity  and  affection  which  will  live  like  guardian 
angels  in  the  youthful  heart,  and  amid  the  desolations  of 
grief  and  age  will  come  like  ministering  spirits  to  revive  the 
joys  of  other  days  and  point  the  weary  soul  to  the  heaven 
and  home  of  the  departed.  Home — there  is  magic  in  the 
word,  poetry  in  the  sound.  '  There  is  no  place  like  home,' 
with  its  morning  and  evening  salutations  ;  a  shelter  from  the 
world's  bitter  blasts,  a  balm  to  the  chafed  and  wounded 
heart,  the  blest  retreat  where  love  and  friendship  meet  and 
mingle  into  bliss." 

He  was  unceasingly  at  work  for  the  church  and  the  college, 
and,  preaching,  begging,  and  teaching,  was  a  busy  man.  His 
busy,  happy  life  glided  on,  and  perhaps  he  had  never  a  happier 
day  than  his  one  in  Oxford  ;  but  it  was  evident  to  all  that  he 
could  not  be  held  there,  and  in  1854  he  was  elected  a  bishop. 

He  delivered  at  each  commencement  a  baccalaureate,  and 
I  give  some  extracts  from  one  delivered  in  1850. 

"  Our  hearts  are  full  of  anxiety,  and  while  we  rejoice  with 
you  on  this  memorable  epoch  of  your  history  we  yet  re- 
joice with  trembling.  Oh  !  if  the  soul  be  not  right  with  God, 
what  are  the  dangers  of  the  mighty  deep,  its  night  and  storm 
and  darkness,  to  the  imperilled  voyager  to  yours  ?  What 
though  he  goes  down  to  sleep  amid  the  pearls  and  corals  of 
the  ocean  ?  What  though  his  friends,  as  the  mother  of  Sisera, 
look  out  the  window  and  sigh  in  vain  through  the  lattice  for 
the  coming  of  his  chariot-wheels?  What  these  dangers  and 
sorrows,  compared  with  the  moral  peril  that  ambush  the 
slippery  path  of  youth,  the  pestilential  levities,  the  fetid  de- 
baucheries, the  damnable  heresies  of  faith  and  feeling,  of 
sentiment  and  practice,  which  poison  and  corrupt  the  very 
fountain  of  thought  and  principle  and  action,  and  shroud  the 
eternity  of  the  soul  in  the  blackness  of  darkness  forever? 

"How  many  young  men  are  to  be  found,  once  modest 
and  moral,  who  have  been  seduced  by  the  enticement  of 
sinners,  debauched  in  taste,  corrupted  in  habit,  and  now,  dis- 
honored and  outcast,  reel  by  day  and  night  from  the  dram- 
shop to  the  gambler's  den,  and  live  only  to  break  the  hearts 


182  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.       CObar  vnr. 

they  were  born  to  bless  ?  How  many  parental  hearts  are 
bruised  and  bleeding,  trampled  by  filial  ingratitude  ;  their 
hopes  extinguished,  their  joys  blighted,  life's  aim  defeated, 
consolations  gone,  and  all  its  brightness  fled  ? 

"  Alas  !  there  are  honorable  men,  seniors  in  depravity, 
who  lift  up  the  light  of  their  countenance  oil  the  profligacy  of 
the  times,  and  with  placid  smiles  initiate  the  young  into  the 
mysteries  of  guilt.  .  ....... 

"  And  1  ist,  and  worst  of  all,  there  is  in  these  latter  ci. 

tematic  effort  to  supersede    the    simple,   stringent,    pure 
morality    of  the  Gospel  by  circulation  of  sentiments  which 
to  human  action  a  larger  liberality,  and  to  passion  a  con- 
ventional  License   t«>  sin   without  fear  and   without  rebuke. 
This    specious,  insinuating  infidelity  is    distilling  its  poison 
under  the  patronage  of  science,  education,  and  knowledge, 
glorifies  the  nineteenth  century,  chants  paeans  to  the  march  of 
mind,  pities  the  superstitions  of  our  Bible-believing  ancestry, 
and   congratulates  the  world  on  the  birth  of  Thomas  Carlylc, 
"•nn,  Mi>s  Martineau,  and  their  compeers  in  non- 
ad  impiety,  and  these  godless  crusaders  claim    a   | 
sumptive  right  to  the  alliance  and  co-operation  of  the  en- 
lightened, educated,  and  philanthropic  ;  and  in  these  blessed 
tim  ht  and  inspiration  not  to  adopt  liberal  views,  free- 

thinking  doctrim  id  God  out  of  society,  religion  out 

of  conscience,  not  to  believe  that  we  arc  on  the  verge  of  that 
political  millennium  when  there  shall  be  no  king  in  Israel, 
and  every  man  shall  do  that  which  is  right  in  his  own  eyes, 
is  to  confess  yourself  a  fool,  too  dull  for  illumination,  or  a 
wretch  incapable  of  sympathies  with  his  kind.  These  system- 
mongers,  with  some  knowledge  of  human  nature,  and  experi- 
menting upon  the  fact  that  the  world  has  been  governed  by 
names — the  fascination  of  words,  the  music  of  a  sonorous  sen- 
timent, a  big,  round,  full  word  that  chimes  in  with  the  humor 
that  happens  to  be  afloat  is  a  mighty  engine  in  the  hands 
of  a  political  trickster  ;  truth,  reason,  the  interests  of  the 
country,  all  go  down  before  it  and  the  enchanted  people 
shout  :   '  Great  is  Diana  of  the  Ephesians.'  " 


1849-1854.]         Ufe  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  183 

"  On  the  same  principle,  these  modern  reformers  talk  of 
humanity,  equality,  and  fraternity,  pity  the  poor  and  landless, 
would  partition  earth  anew,  denounce  all  existing  forms  of 
government,  civil  and  ecclesiastical,  and  propose  to  demolish 
and  reconstruct  the  entire  social  fabric.  Marriage  and  mo- 
nopoly, the  Sabbath  and  sanctuary,  the  priest  and  ruler,  Jesus 
Christ  and  the  gospel,  all  have  had  their  day,  and  must  re- 
tire from  the  stage  while  these  architects  of  ruin  are  erecting 
a  crystal  palace  for  the  grand  exhibition  of  a  world  without  a 
Bible,  of  liberty  without  restriction,  of  government  without  a 
constitution.  In  the  meantime  they  tell  us  that  Moses  was 
a  great  man,  Jesus  a  good  man,  and  the  prophets  and  apos- 
tles representative  men,  the  Bible  a  good  book,  the  gospel  a 
grand  development  in  the  progress  of  the  nations  ;  and  thus,  as 
Joab  served  Abner,  they  seek  to  conceal  the  dagger's  plunge 
by  the  kiss  of  hypocrisy.  They  resemble  a  Hindoo  rabble, 
cheering  the  devotee  as  he  hangs  on  the  tenter-hooks  of  tort- 
ure, and  urging  him  to  the  last  fatal  act  of  superstition  with 
panegyric  and  acclamation  ;  and  oft  these  men  have  their  ad- 
mirers among  the  good,  and  are  lauded  original  thinkers. 

"  Authors  of  a  new  philosophy,  the  self-inspired  dreamers 
have  found  their  mother  tongue  inadequate  medium  for  com- 
municating their  oracular  jargon,  and  they  have  stirred  the 
well  of  English  undefiled  until  it  is  undefiled  no  more.  .  .  . 
Long-buried  thought  has  heard  the  trump  of  resurrection. 
Consternation  has  turned  popery  pale.  The  democracy  of 
mind  is  waking  from  the  slumber  of  centuries,  the  Siberian  exile 
is  dreaming  of  liberty.  The  down-trodden  masses  of  Europe 
are  holding  whispered  councils,  and  the  spirits  of  Tell  and 
Wallace,  Kossuth  and  Garibaldi,  are  mingling  with  the  throng. 
The  throes  of  an  incipient  earthquake  are  shaking  the  thrones 
and  principalities  of  immemorial  time.  The  press  groans  and 
travails  in  mighty  birth,  change  and  tumult  ride  upon  the 
wind,  the  sea  and  wave  are  roaring,  and.  men's  hearts  are  pul- 
sating as  upon  the  eve  of  battle.  The  times  are  ominous,  and 
while  the  philanthropist  hails  the  signs  of  an  oncoming  re- 
generation, he  can  but  fear  lest  the  unchained  elements,  in 


184  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.       [Chap,  viil 

the  pride  and  power  of  their  freedom,  should  sack  the  world, 
and  make  the  desolations  of  its  glory  the  voiceless  heralds  of 
their  triumph.  The  last  great  conflict  between  truth  and 
error,  as  foretold  by  prophecy,  is  rushing  on  ;  but,  ere  the  vic- 
tory is  won,  who  shall  predict  the  varying  fortunes  of  the 
strife  ?  Long  time  in  even  scale  the  battle  may  hang,  and 
anon  the  foes  of  God  and  man,  righteousness  and  order,  shall 
shout  the  triumph  of  error  ;  again  the  friends  of  truth,  few  but 
undismayed,  shall   rally  to  the  rescue,  and   on  the  final  issue 

tsthe  hopes  of  earth,  the  glory  of  heaven,  the  happiness  of 
man.  Hut,  in  the  progress  of  events,  what  scenes  of  impiety, 
ambition,  and  infuriate  passion  ! 

"  Let  blasphemy  display  his  colors  in  proud  contempt  of 
the  living  God,  let  disorder  spread  from  kingdom  to  king- 
dom, from  pole  to  pole,  let  the  foundations  be  broken  up, 
the  fabric  fall,  and  earth   quiver  under  tl:  nding  wreck. 

Where  infidelity  had  ploughed  and  sown  broadcast  the  seeds 
of  unbelief,  in  the  day  of  harvest  she  will  find  that  she  has 
but  planted    laurels   for  the    CI  Christianity  invaded   the 

Roman  Empire  when  h<  id  her  wings  from  Scot- 

land  »t,  in  her  days  of  greatest  pride  and  power.     She 

ha-  met  pride,  prejudice,  and  philosophy  in  the  fields  of  open 
combat,  and  they  have  fallen  at  her  feet  as  did  Pilate's  senti- 
nels before  the  descending  angels  at  the  tomb  of  her  founder. 
She  has   land  upon    the    shores  of  heathenism 

and  ignorance;  barbarism  and  vice  fled  from  her  glance,  and 
the  children  of  idolatry  bowed  in  worship  at  her  altars.     .     . 

"  This  campaign  is  ahead}-  opened,  the  hosts  arc  muster- 
ing for  the  war.  Science,  with  crowbar  and  telescope  in 
hand,  is  walking  round  about  Zion,  inspecting  her  towers, 
marking  her  bulwarks,  and  engineering  for  a  desperate  as- 
sault. Infidelity,  petulant  and  impious,  is  printing  her  bo< 
freighting  every  wind  with  her  sentiments,  multiplying  her 
converts,  and  planning  for  universal  empire.  A  restless,  li- 
centious spirit,  impatient  of  restraint,  burns  unsmothered  in 
the  bosom  of  the  nation,  and  needs  only  the  breath  of  occa- 
sion to  break   forth   in  volcanic  rage — a  firebrand  to  set  the 


1849-1854.]         ufe  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  185 

earth  in  a  blaze.     The  danger  is   upon  us,  and   in  some  re- 
spects the  aspects  of  the  future  are  portentous  and  appalling. 
The  press  is  licentious,  genius  is  prostrated,  parental  author- 
ity is  sundered,  extravagance  and  idleness  and  unscrupulous 
liberality  are  justifying  a  thousand  evils,  and  conniving  at  the 
introduction   of  a  thousand  more.      But,  for   one,  I   am  not 
alarmed.      I  have  hope  for  the  time  to  come.     If  sin  is  busy, 
religion  is  not  dead.      Infidelity  is  concocting  its  fell  schemes 
of   mischief;     the    Bible    is    also    diffusing    its    leaven.     The 
Church  is  enlarging  her  views,  multiplying  her  enterprises, 
and  training  her  disciples  for  glorious  war.     The  old  star  of 
prophecy  which  beamed  upon  her  fortunes  in  light  serene, 
undimmed  by  the  smoke  of  martyrdom,  through   ten  long 
bloody  persecutions,  still  poised  in  the  heaven  of  revelation, 
burns  on  unshorn  of  its  rays,  a  promise  and  a   pledge,  lumi- 
nous, enduring,  unchanged.  ...... 

"  The  glory  of  the  country,  the  interests  of  the  Redeem- 
er's kingdom,  will  be  intrusted  to  your  keeping.  I  beseech 
you  be  good,  courageously,  nobly,  Christianly  good.  I  know 
not  which  most  to  admire,  the  pious  youth  or  the  venerable 
saint.  A  young  man,  chaste,  modest,  religious,  a  tree  in 
vernal  prime,  full  of  flower,  diffusing  upon  the  air  the  odor  of 
grateful  promise ;  an  old  man,  meek,  loving,  resigned,  a 
tree  rich  in  autumnal  hues  and  mellow  fruit,  drooping  its 
laden  branches  to  the  earth.  .How  lovely  both  !  Yet  flowers 
precede  the  fruitage,  and  the  patriarch  of  three-score  years 
and  ten  will  be  but  a  worthless  cumberer  if  life's  springtime 
forgets  its  buds  and  blossoms.  Oh,  the  dreariness  of  old 
age  without  religion  and  religious  hopes  !  A  heath  in  the 
desert,  blighted,  lonely,  shaking  in  the  blast,  neither  sun  nor 
dew  can  revive  its  early  bloom.  But  youth  and  piety,  oh, 
how  beautiful !  '  A  tree  planted  by  the  waters,  that  spreadeth 
out  her  roots  by  the  river,  and  shall  not  see  when  heat  com- 
eth,  but  her  leaf  shall  be  green,  and  shall  not  be  careful  in 
the  year  of  drought,  neither  shall  cease  from  yielding  fruit.' 
Such  be  your  emblem  and  your  history." 


CHAPTER  IX. 
THE  BISHOP,  1854.  AGED  43. 

The  General  Conference  of  1854— Views  of  Holiness — Elected  Bishop — 
Resolves  I  '\ford  — Presentation  of  a   Watch — First  Confer- 

ences—Dr.    Price,  Dr.  lid  wards,    Dr.  Wilson  —  Views   of  the   Episco- 
pacy—  Preparation  for  a  Long  Journey. 

The  General  Conference  of  1854,  the  third  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  South,  met  in  Columbus,  Ga.,  in  May. 
This  was  the  first  General  Conference  which  had  ever  met  in 
Georgia.  The  city  in  which  it  assembled  was  the  same  in 
which  Dr.  Pierce  had   filled    hi^  ite.      It    was  the 

home  of  his  father,  and  of  several  of  his  sisters.  Many  of  the 
friends  of  his  childhood,  who  had  known  him  in  Putnam  and 
nc,  were  living  here.  The  .Conference  was  composed  of 
the  leading  men  of  the  Southern  Church,  many  of  them  his 
associates  in  the  General  Conferences  from  1840  to  1854.  No 
man  in  the  body  was  better  known  than  he  was,  and  no  one 
shared  with  him  the  place  he  held  as  the  first  pulpit  orator  of 
the  South. 

Lovick  Pierce,  William  Capers,  James  O.  Andrew,  John 
' y,  Robert  Paine  ;  men  who  had  known  Asbury  and 
McKcndrcc,  were  still  here.  They  were  somewhat  broader  in 
their  views  than  those  who  immediately  preceded  them,  but 
were  very  conservative.  Leroy  M.  Lee,  W.  A.  Smith,  Alex. 
P.    Green,    J  1    Hamilton,    John    B.    McFerrin,    II.    H. 

Kavanaugh,  W.  M.  YVi^htman,  George  F.  Pierce,  were  in  the 
strength  of  their  manhood  and  were  striking  figures  on  the 
canvas.  YVightman,  the  scholarly,  fastidious,  and  elegant 
editor;  Kavanaugh,  the  unique  Kentuckian,  whose  jovial  spir- 
its and  genial  laugh  and  irresistible  humor  were  only  surpassed 


1854.]  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  187 

by  the  Miltonic  eloquence  shown  in  his  sermons,  which  always 
began  with  Paradise  Lost  and  always  ended  with  Paradise 
Regained  ;  John  B.  McFerrin,  the  unequalled  debater,  who 
could  floor  an  opponent  by  an  illustration  or  a  witticism 
when  he  failed  to  do  it  with  an  argument ;  Whitefoord  Smith, 
the  elegant  and  cultured  South  Carolinian,  then  in  his  prime; 
William  J.  Parks,  the  man  of  the  people  ;  John  W.  Glenn,  the 
oracle  of  the  Georgia  Conference  ;  James  E.  Evans,  clear- 
headed, true-hearted,  and  Jesse  Boring,  who,  after  five  years  of 


FRANCIS   ASBURY,    AGED   TWENTY-FIVE. 

hard  work  and  careful  planning  for  the  Church  in  California 
had  now  returned  to  the  State  of  his  birth  as  a  delegate  from 
the  Pacific  slope,  were  some  of  the  members  of  this  Confer- 
ence. 

More  bishops  were  needed.  Andrew  had  been  a  bishop 
over  twenty  years  ;  Capers,  a  preacher  since  1808,  and  a  bish- 
op for  eight  years  ;  Paine  had  been  in  the  work  since  1816, 
and  Soule  since  1800.  There  was  no  question  as  to  who 
would  be  one  of  the  new  college.  Dr.  Pierce,  of  Emory 
College,  was  the  one  to  whom  every  eye  was  turned.  There 
was  but  one  objection  alleged  against  him.     He  had  been 


[88 


Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  [Ohaf.  ix. 


devoted  to  his  work  ;  self-sacrificing,  unambitious,  and  thor- 
oughly conservative  and  orthodox ;  but  it  was  whispered 
that  he  was  not  sound  in  his  views  on  Christian  perfection, 
or,  at  least,  not  Wesleyan.  He  was  approached  by  James 
E.  Evans,  so  Dr.  Evans  told  me  himself,  and  requested  to 
give  his  views  on  this  vexed  subject.  He  said  they  were 
substantially  those  held  by  the  Methodist  Church  and  by  Mr. 


REV.    W.     M    Kl  ' 


Wesley.  He  did  not  claim  they  were  in  every  respect  those 
of  Mr.  Wesley  nor  those  held  by  his  own  father,  and  still  less 
were  his  views  the  views  which  a  few  years  before  had  found 
special  prominence  in  the  teachings  of  Professor  Upham  and 
Professor  Mahan,  and  of  Mrs.  Palmer,  of  New  York.  He  said 
that  the  command  to  love  God  with  all  the  heart  was  obliga- 
tory on  all,  and  possible  to  all  true  believers  ;  that  no  second 
work  of  grace  was  needful  to  give  this  power,  and  that  entire 


1854.]  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  189 

consecration  was  absolutely  essential  to  the  very  existence  of 
a  symmetrical  Christian  life,  and  must  be  made  at  the  be- 
ginning of  it.  He  held  that  a  pure  intention  did  not  make  a 
perfect  character,  and  he  did  not  think  it  wise  to  make  the 
profession  of  perfection  obligatory. upon  any,  however  holy 
he  was.  He  did  not  deny  that  there  was  a  rest  of  faith,  a 
perfect  love,  that  casts  out  fear,  a  constant  dominion  over  sin. 
These  views  he  presented  as  his,  and  he  was  elected  as  bish- 
op by  the  General  Conference,  knowing  that  he  held  them. 
Mr.  Wesley  would,  no  doubt,  have  detected  some  difference 
between  Dr.  Pierce's  views  of  the  extent  of  the  work  done  in 
conversion  and  of  those  he  held ;  but  whether  Mr.  Wes- 
ley would  have  recognized  such  a  substantial  difference 
between  the  two  opinions  that  he  would  have  stressed  it, 
may  well  be  doubted. 

From  these  views  Bishop  Pierce  never  swerved.  It  is 
not  my  province  to  do  more  than  to  state  his  positions,  and 
not  to  defend  them.  He  put  the  work  of  a  true  conversion 
very  high.  The  rigidest  legalist  never  exacted  a  more  un- 
questioning and  entire  submission  to  God's  law.  The  most 
fervid  mystic  never  went  beyond  him  in  his  views  of  the  willing- 
ness of  God  to  dwell  in  the  soul,  and  to  cleanse  and  to  fill  it. 
He  and  his  father  differed  on  this  subjeet  ;  Dr.  Lovick  Pierce 
accepted  the  views  of  the  modern  interpreters  of  Mr.  Wesley, 
as  represented  by  Dr.  George  Peck  and  of  Mrs.  Palmer,  as 
being  not  only  true,  but  thoroughly  Wesleyan.  Dr.  George 
Pierce  differed  from  them  ;  more  on  a  question  of  religious 
philosoply  than  on  that  of  the  possibility  of  Christian  attain- 
ments. He  was  elected  at  once,  despite  this  acknowledged 
difference  of  view  with  some  of  the  fathers. 

Thirty  years  after  this  the  same  subject  became  agitated, 
and  he  was  interviewed  by  a  reporter  of  the  Atlanta  Consti- 
tution, and  these  were  his  declarations: 

"  The  subject  of  sanctification,  or  Christian  perfection,  or 
holiness,  has  been  the  matter  of  controversy  in  the  Church 
prominently  at  different  times  from  Wesley's  day  down  to  the 
present.      The  great  difficulty  has  been,  not  an  actual  dis- 


190  Life  and  Tunes  of  George  F.  Pierce.  [Chap.  DC 

agreement  upon  the  subject  itself,  as  in  the  attempt  to  define 
what  is  undefinable.  To  convey  an  idea  in  precise  terms  of 
what  is  a  matter  of  fact  and  of  feeling  rather  than  of  doctrine, 
is  always  sure  to  confuse  the  common  mind,  and  to  provoke 
controversy.  The  Scriptures  unquestionably  teach  that  holi- 
ness of  heart  and  life  is  an  essential  to  salvation.  But  to  ex- 
press exactly  what  it  is,  how  it  is  to  be  obtained,  would  be  to 
any  man  a  very  difficult  undertaking.  There  arc  general 
views  of  the  subject,  in  which  all,  I  think,  may  harmonize. 
I  rejoice  in  the  recent  revival  of  this  subject,  and  while  I  do 
not  agree  with  the  views  or  methods  of  its  modern  advocates 
in   all   n  1    think  the   agitation  has  done  and   is  doing 

good.  It  has  led  to  inquiry  j  discussion,  self-examination,  and 
stimulated  a  great  many  to  seek  a  higher  life  and  a  deeper 
religious  experience.  Good  has  been  accomplished,  and  more 
general  good  will  follow  if  its  peculiar  advocates  are  prudent 
and  judicious  in  their  teaching,  and  are  faithful  to  their  own 
professions.  I  think  that  if  less  was  said  in  the  way  of  personal 
claims  and  professions,  and  the  doctrine  left  to  vindicate  itself 
by  the   lives   <.f  |  arc  the   subjects  of  this  work  of 

grace,  it  would  be  better  for  all  concerned.  A  preacher  may 
ent  the  truth  and  enforce  it  by  arguments  from  his  own 
rience  as  illustrative  of  Scripture  preaching,  without 
claiming  himself  to  be  an  example  of  it.  I  believe  in  holiness, 
and  have  struggled  through  life  to  illustrate  it  in  spirit  and  in 
conversation,  but  have  never  felt  called  by  the  spirit  to  avow 
those  high  attainments  which  some  of  my  brethren  report 
concerning  themselves.  I  do  not  discredit  their  testimony 
nor  deny  the  facts  of  their  experience,  but  think  it  more 
modest  and  humble,  saying  less  of  one's  self  and  leaving  char- 
acter to  the  judgment  of  the  Church  and  the  world." 

He  was  elected  in  May  on  the  first  ballot — Rev.  II.  II. 
Kavanaugh  and  John  Early  as  his  colleagues — and  he  decid- 
ed to  leave  Oxford  and  go  back  to  Sunshine,  for  Ella,  his 
first-born,  married  during  the  summer  the  son  of  his  old-time 
friend,  Colonel  Thomas  Turner,  of  Hancock,  and  he  wanted 
his  child  to   be   near  him.     Jennie  the  slave,  whom  he  had 


1S54.] 


Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce. 


191 


bought  when  he  was  in  Macon,  had  brought  up  quite  a  family 
of  sturdy  children,  who  were  on  the  farm.  Isham  and  Clyde, 
and  some  others  had  come  to  him  from  his  grandfather's  es- 
tate; and  though  he  was  by  no  means  wealthy,  and  was  at  this 
time  sadly  hampered  with  debt,  he  was  able  to  sit  under  his 
own  vine  and  fig-tree,  when  he  could  stay  at  home.  But  the 
removal  did  not  take  place  at  once. 


REV.    H.    H.    KAVANAUGH. 


When  his  students  learned  of  his  election  they  made 
arrangements  to  surprise  him  with  a  handsome  testimonial 
of  their  genuine  affection,  and  purchased  for  him  a  gold 
watch,  and  when  he  came  back,  they  made  him  a  present  of 
it  with  the  usual  ceremony.  He  accepted  it,  and  made  the 
following  speech  : 

"  I  accept  the  present,  the  gift  of  yourself  and  fellow- 
students.     I  should  do  violence  to  my  own  feelings,  and  be 


192  Life  ami  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  [Chap,  ix 

unjust  to  you  and  those  you  represent  if  I  did  not  say,  I  am 
deeply  affected  by  this  unexpected  token  of  your  kindness  and 
goodwill.  Your  gift  is  rich  in  its  material,  chaste  in  its  work- 
manship, and  will  be  useful  to  me  in  my  future  divisions  of 
labor  and  travel,  and  in  my  hours  of  solitude  and  stud}-.  But 
valuable  as  it  is  in  these  respects  to  me,  it  is  richer  far  in  its 
associations  and  the  reminiscences  it  will  awaken  when  I  am 
gone. 

"  This  watch  will  tell  the  passing  hours  to  all  who  may 
look  upon  its  face  ;  to  me  it  will  speak  of  long  years  <>f  pi 
ant    social    intercom  mutual    kindness,    of   friendships 

sanctified  by  learning  and  religion.  It  will  be  a  memorial  of 
the   past  that  shall  call   up   familiar  loved   faces  will 

beam  upon  me  once  more,  ami  tones  never  t<>  he  forgotten 
will  come  back  fresh  and  musical  as  now.  What  joys  these 
recollections  may  enhance,  what  sorrows  they  may  assuage, 
heaven  only  knows.  Toil  and  sacrifice  are  before  me,  but 
this  I  ..  :i  I  will  keep  for  your  sakes.  It  shall  be  an  heir- 
loom. I  will  tell  its  history  to  my  children,  and  send  it  down 
to  my  descendants  an  unwritten  legen'd  of  love  and  memory. 
If  the  Lord  shall  spare  him  to  survive  me  I  will  bequeath  it 
to  my  only  son  as  a  tali-man,  honorable  to  his  father's  name, 
and  commemorative  of  an  important  event  in  the  history  of 
my  life.  I  thank  you,  my  young  friends,  and  tradition  shall 
perpetuate  the  acknowledgment  among  those  that  love  me 
best.  But  allow  me  another  word  which  perhaps  the  occa- 
sion makes  proper.  I  have  never  felt  that  I  did  wrong  in  ac- 
cepting the  presidency  of  this  institution.  I  did  not  seek  it. 
It  was  no  choice  of  mine.  My  nature  and  my  habits  both 
incline  me  to  a  more  active  life.  But,  sir,  seclusion  from  the 
great  world's  eye  was  no  privation.  The  plaudits  of  the  multi- 
tude I  have  never  sought,  and  while  I  do  not  pretend  to  de- 
spise the  praise  of  man.  it  has  never  been  with  me  a  motive 
to  action.  My  position  here  will  compare  in  usefulness  with 
almost  any  other.  What  nobler  profession  than  to  mould 
mind,  heart,  character.  The  chiselled  statue,  with  all  its 
symmetry,  is  but  a  statue  still,  dumb,  blind,  and  dead.     The 


1854.] 


Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce. 


193 


pencilled  canvas,  with  all  its  figures,  scenes,  and  colors,  is 
but  the  mimicry  of  life.  The  teacher  deals  with  mind, 
quick,  living,  immortal  mind,  its  bloom  is  hearty,  its  fra- 
grance health,  its  fruit  honor.  Here  is  a  statue  that  can 
speak  when  the  sculptor  is  dead,  in  speech  how  admirable, 
in  reason  how  like  a  God.  He  deals  with  the  heart,  its 
sentiments,  affections,  motives  ;  oh,  if  he  can  mould  them  to 


BISHOP   EMORY,    D.D. 

virtue,  truth,  and  purity,  what  evil  may  he  not  prevent, 
what  good  may  he  not  do  !  The  heart,  'tis  the  lost  and 
wandering  sheep  which  Heaven  seeks,  and  when  'tis  found 
there  is  jubilee  among  the  angels  of  God  ;  the  heart,  infinite 
in  its  capacity  of  love  and  enjoyment,  the  eternal  God  may 
inhabit  it,  and  he  alone  can  fill  its  unmeasured,  immeasurable 
power.  Mind  enriched,  heart  made  pure,  how  lovely  is 
character.  The  Greek  Phidias,  the  Italian  Angelo,  wrought  in 
marble  as  they  said  for  eternity,  and  men  call  them  immortal. 
J3 


191  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.         [Chap-  1x- 

I  had  rather  be  the  instrument  of  making  you  good  men,  good 
Christians,  than  to  be  the  incarnation  of  all  Greek  and  Roman 
fame.  The  deed  may  have  been  wrought  in  silence,  without 
the  sound  of  hammer  or  chisel.  A  kind  word,  a  gentle  re- 
buke, a  pulpit  discourse,  a  closet  petition  may  have  wrought 
the  change  ;  the  world  may  never  know  who  did  it,  the  deed 
is  recorded,  and  the  record  is  seen.  Shut  up  in  these  college 
walls  I  too  have  been  working  for  eternity.  I  may  die  to 
fame  unknown  and  be  buried  without  a  monument,  but,  if  I 
have  dune  you  good  work,  shall  live  fur  you  as  immortal. 

"  Once  more,  my  young  friends,  I  thank  you.  The  interest 
I  have  felt  in  you  is  known  only  to  the  Searcher  of  hearts. 
I  have  sometimes  spoken  sternly,  but  never  harshly.  As  to 
your  courtesy  and  respect  to  me,  I  could  ask  no  more.  Your 
mental  improvement  has  been  my  ambition,  your  souls'  sal- 
vation my  heart's  desire  and  prayer  to  God.  I  leave  you 
to-morrow,  but  Emory  College  and  her  students  will  be  en- 
shrined in  my  affections.  I  .shall  be  a  pilgrim  upon  the  earth 
yet  a  little  while,  and  you  will  be  scattered.  In  the  wander- 
ings of  life  we  may  meet  again.  In  my  home,  where  'cr  it  be, 
you  will  always  find  a  welcome  ;  in  me,  a  friend  whose  love 
is  only  less  than  those  who  call  you  son. 

1  ne'er  shall  clasp  your  friendly  hand, 

In  greeting  or  farewell, 
But  thoughts  of  our  eternal  home 

Will  in  my  bosom  swell. 
Then  when  we  meet  in  holy  joy, 

No  thoughts  of  parting  come, 
But  never-ending  ages  still 

Shall  find  us  all  at  home.'  " 

'/','  Dr.  Means,  his  successor. 

"  I  retire  from  my  post  relieved  of  those  anxieties  I  might 
have  felt,  by  your  acceptance  of  the  place.  The  heart  of  the 
Church  pulsates  with  a  gentle  throb.  The  public  mind  re- 
poses in  confidence,  and  these  young  hearts  feel  that  if  they 
have  lost  a  friend  they  have  found  a  father.     I  commend 


-854.]  ufe  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  195 

them  to  your  charge.  Hold  them  to  their  duty  with  a  stern 
hand  but  a  loving  heart.  Rebuke  them  when  they  do  wrong 
with  all  authority,  and  yet  draw  them  with  the  cords  of  love. 
And  when  with  them  you  tread  the  '  solar  walk  or  milky 
way,'  or  go  down  to  examine  the  foundations  of  this  old 
world,  say  to  them  that  in  the  beginning  God  laid  the  founda- 
tions of  the  earth,  and  the  heavens  are  the  work  of  his  hands. 
And  when  at  morning  and  evening  prayer  you  gather  them 
about  your  college  altar,  let  faith  grasp  the  tree  of  life  and 
shake  from  the  emerald  boughs  upon  their  thirsty  spirits  the 
dew  of  heaven  and  the  refreshing  of  love  divine." 

He  went  to  Sunshine  in  July.  He  did  not  have  much  time 
for  rest,  for  his  journal,  or  rather  his  memorandum-book,  shows 
that  he  preached  in  Columbus,  May  21  st;  Oxford,  June  4th  ; 
Savannah,  June  1  ith  ;  Fort  Valley,  June  18th  ;  Cuthbert,  June 
21st;  Americus,  June  22d  ;  Oxford,  June  25th  ;  and  Sparta, 
July  2d.  He  was  at  Commencement  in  Oxford  this  time, 
and  removed  his  family  to  Sunshine  in  July.  He  spent  the 
few  weeks  before  he  began  his  episcopal  tour  at  home,  but 
he  was  not  idle.  At  Rock  Mills,  Smyrna,  and  Sparta,  two 
country  churches  and  one  village  church,  he  preached  sev- 
eral times,  and  at  Culvers,  near  his  home,  he  held  a  protract- 
ed meeting,  and  in  seventeen  days  he  preached  twenty-three 
times.  That  the  reader  may  get  a  correct  idea  of  the  charac- 
ter of  the  subjects  chosen  by  him  for  a  revival,  I  give  a  few 
of  the  texts  which  he  used  : 

1.  I  thought  on  my  ways  and  turned  my  feet  unto  thy  testi- 
monies; 2.  And  I  say  unto  you,  ask,  and  it  shall  be  given 
you;  3.  He  that  covereth  his  sins  shall  not  prosper;  4.  But 
there  is  forgiveness  with  thee,  that  thou  mayest  be  feared  ; 
6.  The  Rejection  of  Esau. 

After  a  summer  of  hard  work  in  arranging  for  the  future 
he  began  his  first  episcopal  tour.  Bishop  Pierce  did  not  de- 
sire or  seek  for  the  office  of  bishop  ;  the  Church  had  confer- 
red it  upon  him  ;  he  knew  the  labors  and  anxieties  it  en- 
tailed.    He  had  no  ambition  for  place  or  power,  save  for  the 


196  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.         [,1,Ar  Ix^ 

desire  of  doing  good  by  an  active  public  life.  He  would 
have  gladly  spent  all  his  days  at  Sunshine,  in  the  bosom  of 
his  family  ;  but  when  he  heard  the  voice  of  the  Church  call- 
ing him  to  the  office  of  bishop,  he  obeyed  the  call ;  and  being 
chosen  and  ordained  a  bishop,  he  determined  to  be  one.  He 
knew  what  the  episcopate  among  Methodists  meant.  He 
knew  that  he  was  no  apostolic  prelate,  with  miracle-working 
powers,  upon  whom  the  Church  rested,  one  who  made  priests, 
and  who  ruled  them.  He  knew  he  was  chosen  by  his  peers 
to  superintend  them  in  their  work,  and  being  chosen,  was 
merely  one  of  them  still,  a  superintending  Presbyter  ;  that 
he  was  chosen  by  the  churches  to  watch  over  and  to  protect 
their  interests,  and  was  their  servant,  not  their  lord.  He- 
knew  where  his  duties  lay,  and  he  knew  the  limit  to  his  pow- 
er. This  limit  he  never  transcended  ;  this  power  he  never 
abused.  He  hail  the  same  ideas  of  his  work  that  were  As- 
bury's,  McKendree's,  and  Andrew's.  The  preachers  were  to 
go  whither  the  bishop  said,   and  the  bishop  was  only  to  say 

when  he  thought  God  said  it.  He  resolved  never  to  let 
anything  Stay  him  in  his  work,  and  fr<>m  this  day  in  May, 
1854,  for  nearly  thirty  years,  he  never  had  a  moment's  res 
pite  from  self-exacted  labor.  He  presided  over  the  Holston 
Conference,  which  met  at  Cleveland,  Trim.,  in  October. 
This  mountain  Conference  was  at  that  time  unbroken  into 
factions,  and  was  a  large  hotly.  Rev.  K.  X.  Price  was  a 
young  man  who  had  just  joined  the  Conference,  and  he  has 
given  us  a  sketch  of  this  first  visit  of  Bishop   Pierce. 

"If  I  am  not  mistaken,  Holston  Conference  was  the  first 
Conference  presided  over  by  Bishop  Pierce.  The  session  was 
held  in  Cleveland,  Tenn. ,  in  October,  1854.  He  was  just 
from  a  protracted  meeting  in  Georgia,  where  he  had  preached 
some  seventeen  or  eighteen  sermons,  and  he  was  slightly 
jaded.  But  though  fatigued  in  body  he  was  strong  in  spirit. 
He  appeared  to  me  as  one  of  the  most  perfect  specimens  of 
physical  humanity  I  had  ever  seen.  What  a  vigorous,  sym- 
metrical, well-filled-out  frame  !  What  an  open,  benignant 
countenance  !     What    a    keen,    lustrous    eye,    flashing    with 


JOHN    AND    ELLA    TURNER. 


185*-]  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  197 

goodness  and  intelligence  !  Indeed  he  seemed,  as  he  after- 
ward showed  himself  to  be,  a  perfect  man,  possessing  every 
thing  essential  to  noble  manhood,  without  superfluities  to 
mar  and  blot  the  picture. 

"The  sermon  on  Sunday  of  the  Conference  was  such  as 
might  have  been  expected  of  George  F.  Pierce  in  his  prime." 

He  returned  home  for  a  little  while,  and  while  at  Sunshine 
he  wrote  to  John  Turner,  who  had  married  Ella.  This  is  the 
first  of  those  family  letters  of  which  we  have  so  many.  It 
shows  the  every-day  practical  sense  of  the  great  orator  : 

To  John  Tiirner,  his  son-in-law. 

"Sunshine,  October  24,  1854. 
"  Dear  John  : 

"  Since  you  left  all  things  continue  as  they  were.  Doc  and 
Mollie  have  been  unwell,  but  are  better.  I  shall  leave  on 
Thursday  for  the  land  of  pitch  and  turpentine. 

"To-day  I  was  in  town  and  saw  your  father.  He  told  me 
he  had  written  to  you,  and  gave  me  some  account  of  your  in- 
terests in  Alabama.  We  conversed  about  your  affairs  in  gen- 
eral and  concluded  that  it  was  best  for  you  to  remain  here. 
An  arrangement  for  land  can  and  will  be  made.  There  is  no 
difficulty  about  that.  If  you  get  possession  of  your  negroes 
and  are  so  inclined  you  can  farm  with  me  next  year  and  save 
yourself  a  considerable  amount  and  make  provision  for  an- 
other year.  Even  as  to  your  pecuniary  interests  this  place  is 
best  for  you.  The  region  in  which  your  Alabama  friends  live 
is  not  the  place  in  any  respect  for  you.  The  idea  of  your  go- 
ing back  and  forth,  wintering  there  and  summering  here,  in- 
volves great  loss  of  time,  much  expense,  and  no  little  neglect 
of  business.  It  will  not  work  pleasantly  or  profitably. 
George  Culver  has  returned  and  wants  to  get  his  land  back, 
but  cannot  succeed.  He  repents  his  bargain,  and  so  does  every 
man  wellnigh  who  leaves  Middle  Georgia. 

"  If  you  leave  here  you  will  break  me  up  in  all  my  plans  and 
hopes.  Ann  will  not  be  satisfied  so  far  from  Ella,  and  to  leave 
her  in  her  loneliness  will  add  no  little  to  my  trials  in  leaving 


198  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.         tCQAr  IX- 

home.  Family  fellowship  is  no  mean  source  of  enjoyment  in 
this  sad  world.  To  break  up  when  there  is  no  necessity  for 
it  will  hardly  be  right.  We  can  live  happy  here  if  we  learn 
to  be  content  with  plenty,  rather  than  gain.  The  natural  in- 
crease of  property,  with  the  blessing  of  Heaven,  will  make 
you  rich  by  the  time  you  are  forty.  Conclude  to  cast  in  your 
lot  with  us  in  old  Hancock  and  I  think  we  shall  live  and  do 
well.  Write  me  at  Pittsboro,  N.  C,  and  after  the  I2th  of  No- 
vember to  Columbia,  S.  C.  May  the  Lord  direct  you  in  all 
your  steps  and  order  all  things  for  the  best. 

"  Kiss  Ellen  for  me  and  tell  her  to  say  come  back. 

"Afiy." 

He  went  soon  afterward  to  the  land  of  pitch  and  turpen- 
tine, as  North  Carolina  was  called  in  the  cotton  States,  and 
Dr.  Wilson  tells  us  of  his  visit  : 

"  It  was  in  the  fall  of  1854,  the  year  of  his  election  to  the 
episcopacy.  Our  session  was  held  in  the  town  of  Pittsboro, 
\.  C.  (  ►wing  to  an  unusual  amount  of  Conference  business 
the  session  lasted  two  weeks,  or  at  least  embraced  two  Sab- 
hath-. 

"It  was  the  first  time  a  large  majority  of  the  members  of 
the  Conference  had  seen  him,  a  few  of  the  older  members 
having  met  him  in  the  General  Conference  and  become  spe- 
cially interested  in  him  after  his  election,  forming  a  personal 
acquaintance  with  him.  When  he  entered  the  Conference- 
room,  of  course  all  eyes  turned  to  him.  In  face,  form,  and 
movement  we  had  not  seen  his  like  before — young,  elastic, 
graceful,  and  handsome,  he  filled  a  very  high  ideal  of  perfect 
physical  manhood.  As  president  of  the  Conference,  and  as 
he  went  in  and  out  amongst  us,  his  bearing  was  faultless. 
Deferential  to  the  old,  attentive  and  gentle  to  the  young 
members  of  the  body,  and  respectful  and  affable  to  all,  he 
drew  the  hearts  of  our  preachers  and  people  to  him  in  no 
ordinary  degree.  This  love  clung  to  him  as  long  as  he  con- 
tinued to  make  occasional  visits  to  our  Conference,  and  now 


18540  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  199 

pays  tribute  to  his  memory  with  a  tenderness  and  fervor  that 
words  cannot  measure. 

"In  the  chair,  conducting  the  business  of  the  Conference, 
there  was  no  affectation  of  ability  or  special  readiness  for 
prompt  decision  upon  technical  law  questions,  but  a  careful, 
painstaking  attention  to  what  was  in  hand,  that  fully  made 
up  for  his  want  of  experience  as  a  presiding  officer,  and  put 
him,  in  the  judgment  of  those  whose  opinions  were  entitled 
to  respect,  in  the  front  line  of  our  chief  pastors. 

"During  the  long  and  tedious  session  of  the  body,  an  epi- 
sode occurred  that  will  live  in  the  memory  of  all  who  were 
present.  The  central  interest  of  the  session  was  a  '  war  of 
giants'  between  two  eminent  ministers  of  our  Church.  The 
trial  had  been  progressing  for  several  days,  conducted  with 
marked  ability  on  both  sides.  A  distinguished  minister  from 
another  Conference  had  occupied  the  witness  stand  for  some 
time.  Misunderstanding  the  purpose  of  those  who  had  sub- 
jected him  to  a  very  minute  and  rigid  examination,  and  be- 
lieving that  the  design  was  to  call  in  question  his  veracity 
before  the  Conference  and  the  large  audience  in  the  house, 
he  claimed  of  the  bishop  the  '  personal  privilege '  of  being 
heard.  This  was  accorded  to  him.  He  further  requested 
that  no  one  should  leave  the  house  without  hearing  him.  He 
then  proceeded  to  throw  around  himself  a  vindication,  and  to 
hurl  at  his  supposed  traducers  a  philippic  that  I  have  never 
heard  surpassed  by  any  man.  Those  whom  he  had  misun- 
derstood vehemently  called  upon  him  and  the  bishop  and 
Conference  to  be  allowed  to  put  in  their  disclaimer  of  the 
construction  he  had  placed  upon  their  purpose.  When  this 
was  done  the  intense  excitement  of  the  Conference  and  au- 
dience abated,  and  the  storm  was  followed  by  a  calm.  At 
this  auspicious  moment  the  bishop  arose  from  his  seat,  and 
made  a  most  powerful  appeal  to  the  parties  in  the  contest  to 
refer  their  controversy  to  mutual  friends  for  settlement.  He 
put  his  request  with  such  extraordinary  force  and  power,  as 
he  pleaded  for  the  best  interest  of  the  brethren  themselves, 
and  the  peace  of  the  Church  of  Christ,  that  all  parties  accepted 


200  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.         IP***,  ix. 

his  proposition.  The  case  was  transferred  from  the  Confer- 
ence to  chosen  friends,  who  agreed  upon  a  settlement,  and 
reported  to  the  Conference.  The  Conference  approved  their 
action.  For  a  time  the  '  churches  had  rest.'  Whatever  may 
afterward  have  been  said  as  to  the  strictly  technical  correct- 
ness of  this  administration,  there  was  but  one  voice — and 
that  voice  has  echoed  throughout  the  Conference  for  more 
than  thirty  years — as  to  the  substantial  wisdom  of  our  young 
bishop's  work,  and  that  he  came  to  us  and  remained  with  us 
to  the  end,  in  the  '  fulness  of  the  blessing  of  the  Gospel  of 
Christ.' 

"  Hut  at  that  session  of  our  Conference,  Bishop  Tierce's 
grandest  success  was  in  the  pulpit.  Me  preached  three 
times  while  he  was  with  us.  One  of  these  sermons  I  did  not 
hear,  having  been  assigned  by  the  Committee  on  Public 
Worship  to  preach  at  the  same  hoar  to  another  congregation. 
Two  of  these  masterpieces  of  pulpit  oratory  it  was  my  privi- 
lege to  hear,  and  of  the  other  I  heard  SO  much  said  that  it 
almost  seems  as  a  sermon  to  which  I  had  personally  listened. 
The  whole  Church  knows  of  the  indescribable  grandeur  and 
power  of  the  bishop's  highest  successes  in  the  pulpit.  These 
sermons  were  of  his  best  Ht  never  surpassed  them  with 
us,  although  he  never  failed  to  preach  to  us  on  a  very  high 
plane  a-  a  in  iter  workman.  Our  preachers  and  people  who 
heard  these  sermons,  at  once  placed  him  as  primus  inter 
pares  in  the  pulpit.  I  think  most  of  them  never  changed 
their  opinion. 

"  But  my  sketch  is  too  long.  His  sun  of  life  has  gone 
down.  No  clouds  arc  around  its  setting.  Its  glow  of  light 
and  love  falls  back  upon  the  Church  to  teach  and  warm  us 
into  a  higher  life.  The  North  Carolina  Conference  bends  as 
low  as  the  most  admiring  in  devotion  to  receive  her  share  of 
the  benediction  of  such  a  life  and  death,  and  drops  upon  his 
honored  grave  a  tear  as  radiant  with  love  as  theirs. 

"  Affectionately  yours, 

"N.  H.  D.  Wilson." 


1854.] 


Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce. 


201 


He  went  thence  to  Columbia,  South  Carolina,  where  he 
presided  over  the  South  Carolina  Conference.  It  was  the 
Conference  to  which  his  father  had  gone  in  1804,  in  it  he  had 
himself  spent  a  year,  and  with  its  leading  members  he  had  a 
close  intimacy.  William  Martin,  who  had  been  his  colleague 
in  Charleston,  he  sent  on  Spartanburg  Station,  and  Dr.  White- 
foord  Smith,  who  succeeded  him  on  the  Augusta  Station,  was 


WILLIAM    WIGHTMAN,    D.D. 


on  the  Greenville  Station.  Joseph  Cross,  the  inimitable  little 
doctor  who  made  almost  the  circuit  of  the  continent  as  a 
Methodist  itinerant  and  died  an  Episcopal  rector,  was  in 
Charleston  ;  Walker,  Betts,  Crook,  Derrick,  and  Kelly  were 
on  districts;  his  old  friend  Dr.  Wightman,  was  now  Presi- 
dent of  Wofford  College.  The  Conference  was  strong  and 
wealthy.  Its  missionary  contributions  were  greater  than 
those  of  any  other  Conference  in  the  connection.      It  was  a 


202  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  tc»A1'-  ^ 

rather  difficult  thing  for  a  new  bishop  to  preside  over  such  a 
body  to  their  satisfaction,  but  he  did  so. 

He  made  a  hurried  visit  home.  It  entailed  a  long  ride 
in  the  cars  and  by  carriage  to  secure  him  a  few  days  with 
his  family,  but  as  soon  as  Conference  adjourned  he  hastened 
to  them  and  spent  a  little  while,  and  on  the  29th  of  November 
he  was  at  the  Virginia  Conference.  Dr.  Edwards,  who  had 
been  even  then  for  twenty  years  a  prominent  preacher,  and 
who  still  wields  a  ready  pen,  has  given  me  the  following  letter 
of  recollections.  Although  some  portions  of  his  letter  refer 
to  after  periods  of  the  bishop's  life,  I  shall  give  it  all  here. 

Dr.  Edwards  says  : 

"He  presided  at  the  Virginia  Conference  held  in  the 
City  of  Norfolk.  lie  became  a  great  favorite  in  the  Virginia 
Conference,  respected  by  everybody,  preachers  and  people. 
At  that  Conference  in  Norfolk  he  preached  a  sermon  on  Sun- 
day morning  that  has  never  been  forgotten  by  those  who 
heard  him.  On  Sunday  night  he  was  wearied  and  fell  far  be- 
low the  morning  sermon.  In  1857  he  presided  at  the  Vir- 
ginia Conference  held  in  Elizabeth  City,  where  he  preached 
one  of  the  greatest  sermons  of  his  life. 

"  My  next  meeting  with  Bishop  Pierce  was  at  the  General 
Conference  held  in  Nashville,  May,  1858.  I  have  occasion 
to  remember  this  meeting,  having  it  scored  on  the  memory 
by  a  little  incident  that  occurred  at  the  Gcnexal  Conference 
Missionary  Meeting  held  one  night  during  the  Conference. 
Rev.  Joseph  Cross,  D.D.,  myself,  and  Bishop  Pierce  were  an- 
nounced as  the  speakers  for  the  occasion.  Dr.  Cross  made 
the  first  address,  and  having  but  recently  returned  from  a 
visit  to  Europe,  he  made  frequent  reference  to  scenes  and  in- 
cidents of  foreign  travel,  by  way  of  illustrating  and  giving 
point  to  his  line  of  remark.  I  followed  ;  and,  having  made 
the  tour  of  the  continent  but  a  short  time  before  this  meet- 
ing, I,  in  turn,  made  some  reference  to  what  I  had  seen  and 
heard  abroad.  Bishop  Pierce  arose  to  make  the  closing  ad- 
dress.    He  began  by  saying  in  a  deprecatory  tone  and  man* 


JOHN    E.   EDWARDS,    D.  D. 


1844.]  jjfe  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  203 

ner  :  '  I  am  a  ruined  man.  I  am  not  eloquent  like  Brutus, 
not  have  I  travelled  in  Europe,  or  in  other  foreign  countries. 
I  have  never  been  to  Rome,  or  Venice,  or  Milan.  I  have 
never  seen  the  Pope,  or  any  of  the  crowned  heads  of  Europe  ; 
but,'  said  he,  '  I  have  been  beyond  the  Mississippi  River, 
and  away  into  the  Indian  Territory,  and  have  slept  in  wig- 
wams, and  I  have  shaken  hands  with  Washelitubby.'  This  is 
the  nearest  approach  to  my  remembrance  of  the  name.  By 
this  time  the  bishop  got  the  laugh  on  us,  which  I  enjoyed 
with  peculiar  zest.  He  then  went  on  and  made  a  speech  that 
cast  mine  and  Dr.  Cross'  in  the  shade. 

"  On  Bishop  Pierce's  first  visit  to  the  Pacific  coast,  he 
wrote  to  me  from  San  Francisco,  California,  in  the  following 
language,  as  nearly  as  I  can  now  reproduce  it.  After  stating 
the  pressing  demand  for  preachers  in  the  Pacific  Conference, 
he  said,  '  by  the  authority  vested  in  me  as  one  of  the  Gen- 
eral Superintendents  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
South,  I  command  you,  as  an  obedient  son  in  the  Gospel,  to 
come  at  once  to  San  Francisco,  and  take  charge  of  our  church 
in  this  city.  Your  services  are  needed,  and  they  can  do  bet- 
ter without  you  in  Virginia  than  we  can  do  without  you 
here.'  I  replied  that  I  had  the  profoundest  respect  for  him 
personally,  and  was  by  no  means  wanting  in  loyalty  to  Epis- 
copal authority,  when  exercised  in  the  bounds  of  prevailing 
usage  ;  that  the  changes  in  the  times  since  the  days  of  Coke 
and  Asbury  had  modified  episcopal  prerogative  in  making 
transfers  from  one  remote  section  of  the  country  to  another ; 
that  I  fully  recognized  his  authority  to  wallop  me  about, 
from  the  mountains  to  the  sea,  in  the  bounds  of  the  Virginia 
Conference  ;  but  that,  situated  as  I  was,  with  a  family  grow- 
ing up  around  me,  to  say  nothing  of  my  personal  preferences 
for  my  own  Conference,  I  must  most  respectfully  decline 
obedience  to  his  episcopal  mandate.  I  heard  no  more  from 
the  bishop  until  I  saw  him  at  the  seat  of  the  Virginia  Confer- 
ence, after  his  return  from  California.  In  recurring  to  our 
correspondence  he  said  that  he  had  but  little  hope  of  get- 
ting me  to  San  Francisco  when  he  wrote  ;  but  he  thought, 


204  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.         [Gbap.  ix. 

possibly,  by  stating  the  urgent  needs  of  California,  and,  by 
putting  on  an  air  of  episcopal  authority,  he  might  move 
me  to  comply  with  his  command.  I  have  sometimes  thought 
what  might  have  been  the  result,  in  the  event  Bishop  Pierce 
had  laid  in  a  complaint  against  me  before  my  Conference, 
for  disobedience  to  episcopal  authority  in  refusing  to  go  to 
San  Francisco.  Suppose  he  had  put  in  the  charge  against 
me  of  violating  my  ordination  vows,  in  that  I  had  promised 
'obedience  to  our  chief  ministers,'  etc.,  with  'submission 
to  their  godly  judgment,"  and  then  had,  as  in  this  case,  very 
decidedly  refused  to  go  to  the  work  to  which  he  assigned  me. 
But  Bishop  Pierce  was  not  the  man  to  raise  any  such  issue. 
He  had  too  much  practical  cummon-sen.se  for  anything  of  the 
sort. 

"  Bishop  Pierce  attended  the  sessions  of  the  Virginia 
Conference  in  the  following  order:  In  1 854,  as  before  stated, 
in  Norfolk;  in  1S57,  at  Elizabeth  City,  N.  C.  ;  in  1863,  dur- 
ing the  war,  in  Richmond;  in  1S66  at  Norfolk;  1870  in 
Lynchburg;  1878  in  Petersburg,  where  he  preached  a  ser- 
mon of  wonderful  power.  A  distinguished  physician  said  to 
me,  after  hearing  that  sermon  :  '  It  seems  a  pity  that  such  a 
preacher  should  ever  die.' 

"  Hi-;  last  official  visit  to  the  Virginia  Conference  was  at 
the  session  held  in  Portsmouth,  1 882.  It  was  at  this  session 
of  the  Conference  that  a  class  of  four  or  five  preachers,  of  the 
fourth  \ear,  bad  failed  to  pass  an  approved  examination  on 
one  of  the  studies  of  that  year,  and  the  chairman  of  the  com- 
mittee, Dr.  W.  W.  Bennett,  refused  to  recommend  them  for 
elder's  orders.  I  interposed  in  behalf  of  the  class,  and  ex- 
pressed the  wish  and  hope  that  the  Conference  would  excuse 
the  brethren  on  that  one  study,  as  the  committee  had  reported 
an  approved  examination  on  all  the  other  subjects.  On 
further  inquiry  it  was  found  that  the  class  had  failed  on 
Nfosheim's  '  Church  History,'  and  on  that  alone.  The  bishop 
said,  '  That  was  a  difficult  text-book  on  which  to  stand  an 
examination  ;  and  that  he  himself  could  not  stand  an  ap- 
proved examination  on  it,  wanting,  as  it  was,  in  methodical  ar- 


1854]  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  205 

arrangements.  '  What  is  to  be  done  ?  '  I  inquired  of  the  bis- 
hop, in  this  awkward  pause.  '  I  appoint  you,' replied  the  bis- 
hop, '  to  labor  with  Dr.  Bennett,  and  get  him  to  give  the  class 
another  trial  ;  or  to  waive  the  objection  and  let  them  pass.' 
I  appealed  to  Dr.  Bennett  once  more,  and  then  to  the  bishop 
to  indicate  some  way  by  which  we  could  bridge  the  difficulty. 
The  bishop  said  to  Dr.  Bennett :  '  Waive  your  little  objec- 
tion, and  let  the  brethren  pass.'  '  By  what  law  ?  '  inquired  Dr. 
Bennett.  '  By  the  law  of  kindness,'1  responded  the  bishop. 
This  little  incident  endeared  Bishop  Pierce  to  that  class  of 
clever  young  men.  Another  examination  was  ordered  by 
the  Conference  and  all  were  approved  by  the  committee. 

"  On  the  occasion  of  Bishop  Pierce's  last  visit  to  the  Vir- 
ginia Conference  as  its  presiding  officer,  his  health  was 
greatly  impaired.  That  sweet  and  musical  voice  which  had 
given  a  charm  and  fascination  to  his  rhythmical  and  beauti- 
fully rounded  periods,  as  he  swayed  the  multitude  with  his 
matchless  oratory,  had  lost  much  of  its  former  compass, 
melody,  and  ringing  resonance.  He  retained  his  vigor  of 
mind  and  sweetness  of  temper,  and  all  that  refined,  delicate, 
and  urbane  courtesy  that  was  interwoven  with  every  fibre  of 
his  whole  nature.  He  took  peculiar  pleasure  in  conforming 
to  all  the  usages  of  the  Conference,  not  involving  incompat- 
ibility with  what  was  right  and  proper  in  itself.  As  a  pre- 
siding officer,  he  treated  the  humblest  member  of  the  Confer- 
ence with  the  same  measure  of  respect  and  courteous  civility 
that  was  awarded  to  the  more  prominent  and  influential  mem- 
bers of  the  body.  In  social- life  he  was  free  and  easy,  con- 
forming to  the  prevailing  customs  of  the  society  into  which 
he  was  thrown,  with  a  flexibility  of  manner  that  imposed  no 
undue  restraint  on  the  harmless  indulgences  of  the  circle  with 
which  he,  for  the  time,  was  surrounded.  And  yet  the  man 
has  not  lived  who  was  truer  to  his  convictions  of  what  was 
right  than  was  Bishop  Pierce.  He  was  as  firm  as  a  rock 
where  moral  principle  was  involved,  but  pliant  as  an  osier  in 
things  purely  conventional.  Nor  did  he  consider  himself  in- 
fallible in  his  judgment,  by  any  manner  of  means,  in  making 


20G  Life  and  Tunes  of  George  F.  Pierce.  [Chap.  IX. 

out  the  appointments  of  the  preachers,  even  with  the  best  ad- 
vice and  counsel  afforded  by  the  presiding  elders.  Hence, 
under  the  new  development  of  facts  bearing  on  a  given  case, 
he  made  changes,  after  the  Conference  sessions  closed,  in 
conformity  with  such  facts  and  conditions.  This,  at  least,  he 
did  in  more  instances  than  one  in  his  administration  in  the 
Virginia  Conference.  He  was  loved,  honored,  and  revered 
in  this  Conference.  As  such  he  was  always  welcomed  to  the 
presiding-bishop'a  chair  in  the  annual  convocations  of  the 
body.  The  foregoing  is  but  a  faint  memorial  of  the  bishop, 
as  he  was  held  and  esteemed  by  the  Virginia  Conference. 
My  personal  attachments  for  him  were  tender  and  strong. 
He,  perhaps,  more  nearly  approximated  my  ideal  of  a  true 
man,  whether  viewed  in  a  physical,  intellectual,  moral,  or 
strictly  religious  light,  than  any  one  man  I  have  ever  known. 
If  this  sounds  like  an  extravagant  <  'don,  the  reader 

will  qualify  it  by  a  concession  to  the  partiality  of  the  writer." 

At  Cleveland  he  preached  on  "Know  ye  not  that  your 
body  is  the  temple  of  the  Holy  Ghost.'-  And  at  Norfolk  on 
the  same  text.  At  Pittsboro  he  preached  three  times,  and  at 
Columbia  once. 

lie  had  now  made  his  first  Episcopal  round.  He  be- 
longed to  the  third  generation  of  Methodist  bishops.  The 
absolute  rule  of  Asbury,  without  which  perhaps  the  work 
could  not  have  been  done,  was  only  to  be  defended  by  the 
exigency  of  the  times,  and  was  only  possible  under  the  con- 
ditions which  then  existed.  McKcndrce  had  very  wisely 
modified  this  government ;  and  while  nominally  autocratic  it 
was  really  aristocratic,  for  the  council  of  presiding  elders 
shared  with  him  in  the  work  of  placing  the  preachers  and  pro- 
viding for  the  churches.  This  system,  while  never  legalized, 
had  become  by  precedent  established,  before  the  time  that 
Hi-hop  Pierce  began  his  work.  The  bishop,  he  knew,  was 
responsible  to  no  authority  save  to  God,  but  he  did  not  allow 
that  fact  to  lead  him  to  despotism.  Bishop  Pierce  had  little 
use  for  mere  theories,  he  looked  at  everything  from  a  practi- 
cal standpoint.      Questions  of  office  or  order  never  annoyed 


1854-]  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  207 

him  or  engaged  him.  He  was  an  officer  called  by  his  breth- 
ren to  do  a  certain  work,  to  see  to  it  that  each  preacher  had  a 
place  suited  to  him,  and  each  place  a  preacher  suited  for  it, 
and  of  that  he  was,  after  getting  all  the  information  he  could, 
to  be  judge. 

The  days  of  interference  with  episcopal  appointment  had 
not  then  come.  In  the  South,  churches,  save  in  a  very  few 
cases,  left  the  bishops  and  the  cabinet  to  choose  for  them, 
and  the  ''esprit  de  corps"  forbade  a  high-toned  Methodist 
preacher  from  choosing  and  seeking  his  place.  Bishop 
Pierce  had  known  all  the  phases  of  preacher  life.  He  had 
been  a  junior  preacher  on  a  circuit  and  station,  a  preacher 
in  charge,  and  a  presiding  elder.  He  had  known  all  the 
trials  of  narrow  circumstances,  and  his  heart  throbbed  in  sym- 
pathy with  every  man  of  his  brethren.  He  bore  each  one  on 
his  heart,  and  never  willingly  burdened  one  ;  but  he  had  such 
a  sense  of  the  importance  of  the  work,  and  such  contempt  for 
what  the  world  calls  hardship,  and  such  buoyancy  of  spirit, 
and  such  a  good  wife,  that  what  seemed  a  burden  to  many 
was  a  mere  feather-weight  to  him.  His  judgment  from  the  very 
first  was  wonderfully  good.  Sometimes  he  erred,  but  not 
often,  and  when  he  found  a  mistake  was  made  he  was  ready 
at  any  moment  to  correct  it.  In  these  first  days  of  his  epis- 
copate he  was,  while  not  at  all  arbitrary,  perhaps  a  little  less 
tender  than  he  became  in  after  time  ;  but  in  all  his  life  he 
had  but  one  motive  influencing  him,  and  that  was  the  good 
of  the  man  and  of  the  work. 

He  closed  his  Conference  work  and  went  to  Sunshine  to 
spend,  for  the  first  time  in  his  life,  six  months  at  home. 
Bishop  Pierce  was  never  a  rich  man,  and  never  an  avaricious 
one.  He  was  no  trader,  no  speculator.  He  had  bought  an 
old  plantation,  near  his  friends,  and  had  brought  up  on  it  a 
family  of  servants,  born  like  those  of  Abraham,  under  his 
own  roof.  Those  familiar  with  the  cost  of  bringing  up  young 
negroes  to  manhood  well  know  that  the  burden  upon  the 
master  was  a  constant  one,  and  to  renovate  an  old  plantation 
in  the  days  when  every  field  was  to  be  fenced,  was  not  an 


208  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  tOiup.  ix 

inexpensive  thing.  He  had  been  away  from  his  plantation, 
except  for  a  few  months  in  the  year,  for  a  long  time,  and  there 
was  much  to  be  done.  He  was  as  industrious  as  a  bee,  and 
he  found  much  room  for  all  the  work  he  could  do.  The  little 
three-room  cottage  was  to  be  enlarged,  trees  were  to  be 
planted,  the  garden  to  be  made  productive,  and  the  little 
family  to  be  made  comfortable  before  he  began  his  journey 
to  the  West.  Claudia  was  now  at  college  at  Madison,  Lovick, 
a  spry  lad  about  the  home,  and  Mary  and  Annie,  his  little 
girls,  were  at  home  at  school,  Ella  lived  near  by,  and  his  home- 
life  was  full  of  joyousness.  He  was  now  in  the  vigor  of  a 
majestic  manhood.  His  health  was  perfect,  his  spirits  exhu- 
berant.  At  no  time  in  his  life  was  his  sky  more  cloudless, 
than  in  these  days  of  his  first  episcopacy. 

Although  the  bishop  was  so  busy  -at  Sunshine  he  did  not 
allow  home  duties  to  keep  him  from  the  pulpit,  but  preached 
constantly,  alternately  at  a  little  church  mar  Sunshine  and  at 
Sparta,  making  one  visit  to  Augusta,  spending  his  time  at 
home  until  June,  when  he  made  a  visit  to  East  Tennessee, 
and  to  Southwest  Virginia. 

In  the  fall  of  [855  he  began  his  first  trip  to  the  Far  West. 
I  shall  now,  much  to  my  own  pleasure  as  well  as  that  of  my 
readers,  be  able  to  make  Bishop  Pierce  his  own  biographer. 


CHAPTER   X. 

EPISCOPAL  JOURNEYINGS,    1855,  AGED  44. 

Literary  Address — Emory  and  Henry — Departure  for  the  Far  West — 
Parson  Brown — The  Stolen  Hat — Down  the  Cumberland — Up  the 
Missouri — In  the  Wilds — Lost  on  the  Prairie — Into  Arkansas — Into 
the  Nation — Tahlequah— Fat  Landlord — Indian  Mission  Conference 
— Asbury  School — Letter  to  Ella — On  the  Way  again — Quicksand 
— Rough  Travelling — A  Night  with  a  Choctaw — Tablechubee — Ar- 
kansas Again — Hard  Travel — A  Narrow  Escape — A  Lonely  Road — 
Wachita  Conference — Camden — College  Speech — Off  to  Texas — The 
Brave  Lad — The  Wilderness — The  Circus — Texas — Revivals — An 
Effort  at  Singing — Galveston — Homeward  Bound — Difficulties — Sun- 
shine at  Last. 

He  was  a  fine  letter-writer  and  wrote  regularly  to  the  Church 
papers  after  he  became  a  bishop,  and  his  correspondence  with 
them  and  with  his  family  is  so  full  that  his  biographer  has  little 
else  to  do  than  to  collect  his  letters.  He  had  been  invited  to 
Emory  and  Henry  College,  in  Southwest  Virginia,  to  deliver 
the  literary  address,  and  he  did  so  in  the  summer  of  1855. 
This  address  was  substantially  the  same  that  he  delivered  at 
Oxford  some  years  before.     Rev.  R.  N.  Price  says  of  it : 

"  On  Wednesday,  June  6,  1855,  Bishop  Pierce  delivered 
the  annual  address  before  the  literary  societies  of  Emory  and 
Henry  College,  Virginia.  In  my  journal  I  find  this  brief  no- 
tice of  the  address  :  '  Bishop  Pierce  delivered  the  annual 
address  before  the  literary  societies.  He.  is  one  of  the  mas- 
ter-workmen that  need  not  to  be  ashamed.  His  theme  was 
"Denominational  Education,  or  Education  the  Business  of 
the  Church."  His  speech  had  taken  deep  root  in  the  truths 
of  science  and  philosophy;  but  in  point  of  diction,  beauty, 
force,  and  oratory  it  towered  in  the  heavens.     Many  of  us  re- 


210  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  [Chap.  x. 

galed  ourselves  delightfully  beneath  its  spreading  branches, 
and  luxuriated  in  its  refreshing  shade.  It  was  delivered  ex- 
temporaneously.' 

"  The  audience  was  large  for  that  day,  and  embraced  much 
of  the  intellect  and  culture  of  the  section.  Judges,  lawyers, 
physicians,  educators,  preachers,  and  the  cream  of  wealth  and 
fashion  were  there.  When  the  orator  arose  the  audience 
looked  in  vain  for  the  manuscript,  or  even  the  notes.  The 
speaker  took  the  open  field  without  the  usual  breastwork  of 
table  or  desk.  Apparently  he  shot  without  a  rest,  but  he  hit 
the  mark  at  every  report.  The  oil,  seemingly  improvised, 
had,  no  doubt,  been  well  beaten  ;  for  Bishop  Pierce  combined 
the  double  talent  of  the  memoriter  and  the  extempore.  For 
an  hour  he  held  the  audience,  from  its  highest  culture  to  its 
rudest  illiteracy,  spell-bound.  There  was  learning  without 
pedantry,  depth  without  tediousness,  display  without  effort. 
He  seemed  to  stop  simply  because  his  time  was  out,  leaving 
the  impression  that  we  had  had  only  a  sample  of  an  inexhaust- 
ible store  that  lay  behind.  Men  who  were  accustomed  to 
manuscript  preaching  and  manuscript  addresses  were  as  much 
astonished  as   delighted.'* 

lie  returned  home,  and  in  the  early  fall  he  left  home  for 
the  West,  and  of  this  journey  he  writes  fully.  These  letters 
were  written  by  him  to  the  Advocate,  and  were  published  af- 
terward in  a  volume  now  almost  out  of  print — "  Incidents  of 
tern  Travel."      1  Ic  Says  : 

"On  September  20th,  1855,  accompanied  by  my  son 
Lovick,  early  in  the  morning  I  took  the  stage  for  Double 
W  lis,  on  the  Georgia  Railroad.  A  ride  in  an  inferior  vehi- 
cle, with  horses  the  worse  for  wear,  prepared  us  to  appreci- 
ate the  speed  and  comfort  of  the  rail.  Our  driver  was  face- 
tious, and  entertained  us  with  sundry  witticisms  on  men  and 
horses.  One  of  the  team,  that  morning,  he  had  dubbed 
'  Parson  Brown  ;  '  whether  on  account  of  his  grave  looks  or 
his  steid\-  habits,  I  did  not  learn.  The  driver  commented  at 
large    on    the   '  Parson's  '    merits    and    demerits,  the    second 


1855.]  nfe  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  211 

branch  of  the  subject  affording  much  the  wider  field  forexpa- 
tiation.  His  besetting  sin,  I  learned,  was  laziness,  and  his 
chief  infirmity,  a  short  memory.  However,  by  diligent  ap- 
plication of  the  lash,  by  jerks,  and  clucks,  and  shouts,  we 
reached  the  depot  just  in  time  for  the  cars  to  Atlanta.  Fare- 
well to  hacks  and  horses  ;  and  if  forever,  still  be  it  so.  Too 
slow  for  the  '  progress,'  and  too  rough  for  the  luxury  of  the 
age — farewell. 

"  I  found  a  seat,  and  as  is  my  wont  I  prepared  for  sleep. 
I  hung  my  hat  upon  a  hook,  and  composed  myself  to  rest. 
When  I  came  to  myself  we  were  in  Atlanta,  the  cars  empty, 
my  neiv  hat  gone  and  an  old  one  in  its  stead.  I  rushed  out, 
and  found  everybody  busy  about  luggage,  and  its  transfer  to 
other  trains.  Having  secured  my  trunk,  I  went  '  prospecting ' 
for  my  hat.  As  all  around  me  were  in  motion  I  stood  still. 
Presently  a  long,  gawky  man,  though  well  dressed,  came  along, 
and  I  observed  that  his  hat  was  too  big  for  him  and  was  new, 
and  the  old  relic  I  had  on  was  too  small  for  me.  But,  satisfied 
from  the  circumstances  of  the  case  that  a  mistake  had  not 
been  made,  but  that  some  stealing  had  been  done,  I  hesitated 
to  accost  the — gentleman.  But  the  desire  to  have  a  hat  that 
fitted,  and  that  '  would  make  the  trip,'  as  they  say  in  Texas, 
overcame  my  reluctance.  So,  very  significantly,  I  said  to 
him,  '  You  got  hold  of  the  wrong  hat  this  morning,  sir. 
This  '  (handing  him  his  worn-out  head-piece) '  will  fit  you  bet- 
ter than  the  one  you  have  on  :  suppose  we  exchange  ?  '  He 
told  a  story,  but  gave  me  my  hat. 

"  Now  for  the  State  Road  and  Chattanooga.  We  are 
off,  and,  without  accident  or  incident,  reach  the  terminus  of 
the  road,  dine,  and  are  once  more  on  the  rail  for  Nashville. 
Lookout  Mountain  looms  darkly  over  us  as  we  wind  along 
its  base,  and  the  shadows  of  night  thicken  around  us.  Now 
the  moon  struggles  up  the  cloudy  heavens,  and  while  the  val- 
leys rest  in  yet  deeper  gloom  the  circling  ridges  'are  gilded 
with  silver  light ;  and,  as  we  sweep  round  one  of  the  many 
curves  along  this  great  highway,  a  mountain  on  fire  greets 
our  gaze.     But  the  iron  horse  will  not  pause,  and  we  leave 


212  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  [Chap  x 

the  scene,  with  all  its  elements  of  beauty  and  grandeur. 
What  bridges,  and  curves,  and  gorges,  along  this  route  ! 
To  weak  nerves,  how  frightful  !  Even  the  strong  man  feels 
safer  when  he  is  over. 

"  In  the  early  dawn  we  reached  the  City  of  Rocks.  Hir- 
ing a  carriage,  we  drove  up  to  the  residence  of  Dr.  Summers, 
and  found  him  on  his  knees  at  the  family  altar.  Of  course 
we  did  not  interrupt  him,  but  waited  patiently  for  the  end. 
O  that  this  pious  custom  of  morning  and  evening  devotions 
with  wife,  children,  and  servants  were  universal  ;  at  least, 
with  Church  members  ! 

"  Prayer  finished,  we  knocked,  and  the  doctor  opened  the 
door,  and,  with  a  welcome  a  la  Summer St  we  entered  the 
hospitable  mansion.  What  a  man  for  work  is  my  host ! 
And  yet  he  has  time  to  eat,  sleep,  talk,  or  for  any  other  odd 
job.  His  plan  is  elastic;  he  can  expand  it  without  derange- 
ment, or  stop  the  machinery,  if  need  be,  without  losing  a  half 
day  to  start  it  again.  His  system  has  none  of  the  rigidity  of 
mere  form,  but  all  the  activity  of  a  vital  organism,  lie  is 
not  punctilious  about  little  rules,  but  always  busy;  not  wed- 
ded to  a  set  order,  so  there  is  motion  and  progress.  Accord- 
ingly he  docs  more  than  any  man  I  know,  and  slights  noth- 
ing— does  everything  well.  He  keeps  that  rule  of  a  preacher 
— '  Never  be  unemployed,  never  be  triflingly  employed  ;  ' 
and  thus  is  an  example  to  us  all. 

"  It  was  my  purpose  to  spend  the  Sabbath  in  Nashville, 
but  a  boat,  highly  recommended,  left  in  the  afternoon  of 
Saturday,  the  day  of  my  arrival,  and,  by  the  advice  of  the 
brethren,  I  went  aboard  the  Sallic  West,  bound  for  St. 
Louis. 

"At  four  P.  If.  we  weighed  anchor  and  drifted  slowly  be- 
neath the  wire  bridge,  in  full  view  of  the  Methodist  Publish- 
ing House,  and  then  we  were  fairly  afloat  upon  the  basin  of 
the  Cumberland.  In  the  famous  debate  on  the  location  of 
our  Southern  Book  Concern,  at  the  General  Conference  in 
Columbus,  some  preacher  called  this  river  'Goose  Creek,'  in 
derision.      I  found  it,  as  I  always  had,  navigable  ;  and  from 


1855-]  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  213 

the  height  of  its  banks  and  the  breadth  of  the  stream,  I  should 
say  that,  winter  and  summer,  it  is,  for  steamboats,  the  most 
reliable  river  in  the  West,  save  only  the  Father  of  Waters. 

"  I  found  myself  a  stranger  among  my  fellow-passengers, 
and,  as  I  had  purchased  books  in  Nashville,  I  did  not  seek 
to  make  new  acquaintances,  but  made  ready  for  reading. 
Among  other  books,  I  got  the  'Life  of  Robert  Newton,'  and 
I  beg  to  commend  it  to  every  Methodist  preacher.  Circum- 
stances did  not  allow  preaching  on  the  boat  ;  so,  having  read 
some  portions  of  the  Holy  Bible,  I  spent  the  Sabbath-day  in 
perusing  the  interesting  biography  of  a  great  and  good  man. 
What  a  man — what  an  example  was  Newton  !  How  much 
he  did  !  How  hard  and  long  he  worked  !  Did  he  do  more 
than  his  duty  ?  Who  thinks  so  ?  And  if  he  hardly  reached 
the  gospel  rule  of  labors,  what  idlers  are  many  of  us  who 
minister  at  the  altar !  I  confess  to  a  feeling  of  humiliation  in 
reviewing  my  life,  as  I  read,  and  in  my  berth  on  that  boat  I 
pledged  myself  to  a  more  active  consecration.  No  doubt 
every  preacher  would  feel  as  I  did  ;  at  least — the  brethren 
will  pardon  me — I  know  none  who  could  make  the  compari- 
son unrebuked.  I  do  not  speak  of  results,  but  of  effort. 
The  issue  of  this  book  is  timely.  The  tendency  everywhere 
is  to  contract  the  field  of  labor  ;  to  do  less  ;  to  preach  less 
frequently,  and  to  rest  longer.  Read  this  book,  ye  sound, 
hearty,  healthy  Methodist  preachers,  who  do  not  work  so 
much  as  a  conscientious  supernumerary  ought  to  do,  and  keep 
a  good  conscience  if  you  can.  May  the  dead  Newton — 
buried  in  English  ground — still  speak  to  the  ministry  and  the 
Church  in  the  living  records  of  this  American  reprint  of  his 
biography. 

"The  mate  of  our  boat  could  do  more  volunteer  exple- 
tive swearing  than  any  man  I  ever  heard.  He  horrified  me. 
Inwardly  resolved  to  talk  with  him,  I  embraced  the  first  op- 
portunity, although  expecting  to  be  repelled.  To  my  aston- 
ishment, he  seemed  subdued  by  the  first  word,  and  bewailed 
the  follies  of  his  life.  He  had  been  a  Methodist ;  but,  an 
orphan-boy,  poor,  and  doomed  to  struggle  unaided  with  the 


2U  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  [Chap.  x. 

ills  of  life,  he  had  drifted  from  place  to  place,  from  business 
to  business  ;  and,  cut  off  from  religious  association,  he  had 
fallen,  fallen,  till  blasphemy  and  sin  had  become  his  daily 
history.  O  how  many  wandering  stars  there  are,  shooting 
on  to  the  blackness  of  darkness  !  Whether  my  well-meant 
exhortation  availed  to  reclaim  this  backslidden  brother  or 
not,  it  secured  me  and  others  frum  the  din  of  his  impre- 
cations. 

"  The  Sabbath  evening  came,  and,  having  done  what  I 
could  to  improve  the  day,  I  rested  from  thought  and  care  till 
morning  light  Travelling  by  water  to  me  grows  irksome 
after  a  day  or  two.  Three  meals  a  day — reading  a  little, 
talking  a  little,  walking  a  little,  and  all  the  while,  paddle, 
paddle,  puff,  puff;  now  stop  to  put  off  freight;  then  stop  to 
take  on  something  or  somebody,  one  gets  tired — at  least  1 
do — and  the  first  step  on  solid  ground  brings  a  thrill  of 
pleasure. 

"On  Tuesday  night  we  reached  St.   Louis,  and  in  the 
ning  went  ashore.      We  drove  up  to  Brother  Polk's,  with 
whom  1  stayed   during   the  General  Conference  of   1850,  and 
found  him  and  his  amiable  wile  as  warm  hearted  and  hospit- 
able as  ever. 

"  St.  Louis  is  called,  I  believe,  '  The  Giant  of  the  West,' 
.111.1  in  truth  it  d  the   cognomen.      Young,    with   vast 

proportions,  rapidly  growing,  its  full' dimensions  no  man  can 
forecast.  '  The  City  Fathers'  are  planning  wisely  and  muni- 
ficently for  its  ornament,  and  for  the  future  comfort  of  its 
multiplied  population.  This  place  is  one  of  the  strongholds 
of  Romanism  in  America.  Schools,  convents,  and  priests 
abound.  The  black-robed  ministers  of  Rome  move  stealthily 
along  the  streets  ;  and  I  fancied  that  I  could  see  an  ominous 
shadow  in  advance  and  yet  deeper  gloom  rushing  after  them. 
Protestantism  should  be  reinforced  in  St.  Louis.  More 
strong,  !)< 'Id  men  are  wanted,  not  to  fight,  but  to  pray;  not 
to  quarrel,  but  to  preach  'the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus.'  Heaven 
help  Methodism  to  do  her  part  in  defeating  the  '  man  of  sin,' 
and  in  diffusing  through  all  the  West  a  pure  Christianity  ! 


1855.]  ufe  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  215 

"  On  inquiring  for  the  preachers,  I  found  that  all  (pastors 
and  the  editor)  had  gone  to  the  Missouri  Conference. 
Pressed  for  time,  I  made  haste  to  purchase  a  buggy  and  a 
pair  of  horses  for  the  long  land  travel  before  me.  On  con- 
sultation, it  was  determined  that  I  had  better  go  up  the  Mis- 
souri River  to  Boonville,  and  take  a  prairie  route,  and  thus 
avoid  the  Ozark  Mountains.  I  lost  a  day  or  two  in  time,  but 
gained  largely  on  the  score  of  road  and  comfort. 

"  I  put  my  horses  and  buggy  aboard  the  Martha  Jewett, 
bound  for  Lexington  on  the  Missouri,  and  lay  over  one  night, 
purposing  to  take  the  great  Pacific  Railroad,  and  to  intercept 
the  boat  at  Hermann — the  point  to  which  the  cars  were  run- 
ning at  the  time  of  my  visit.  . 

"  This  little  town  has  a  German  population,  devoted  to 
the  culture  of  the  grape  and  to  wine-making.  Here  the 
passengers  dined,  and,  of  a  great  number,  I  believe  I  was 
about  the  only  one  who  did  not  test,  by  actual  experiment,  the 
qualities  of  the  staple  product  of  the  place.  They  seemed 
to  relish  the  flavor  of  the  article,  if  I  might  judge  from  their 
comments,  or  the  quantity  consumed. 

"  This  railroad,  as  the  name  implies,  is  a  magnificent  proj- 
ect. The  route  along  which  it  runs  is  picturesque,  but  full 
of  difficulties.  In  fifty  miles  we  passed  through  several  tun- 
nels, all  short,  but  all  through  solid  rock.  The  road  runs 
generally  along  the  bank  of  the  river,  which  on  one  side 
seems  walled  in  by  an  almost  mountainous  ridge.  A  section 
of  the  base  is  dug  down,  or  rather  blasted  off,  and  the  mate- 
rial thus  obtained  is  used  to  make  the  bed  of  the  road — leav- 
ing a  perpendicular  wall  on  one  side,  and  the  rushing  waters 
of  the  turbid  Missouri  on  the  other.  It  is  a  splendid  con- 
trivance for  fatal  accidents.  The  breaking  of  an  axle — a 
run-off — must  dash  the  passenger,  either  against  a  granite 
wall  or  into  a  watery  grave.  But  no  matter  ;  it  is  one  of 
the  projected  ways  to  the  land  of  gold  and  the  luxuries  of  the 
East.  With  such  objects  ahead  the  Anglo-American  dreads 
no  peril,  fears  no  cost.  Progress  is  the  word,  '  manifest  des- 
tiny-' a  law — the  law. 


216  Life  ami  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  [Chap.  x. 

*'  But  yonder  comes  the  boat.  We  go  aboard,  and  find 
the  captain  a  gentleman  in  manners  and  spirit,  and  the  croud 
of  passengers  orderly,  sedate,  and  all  disposed  to  contribute 
to  the  general  happiness.  After  leaving  St.  Louis  all  to  me 
was  new,  and  so  I  travelled  with  my  eyes  open. 

"  It  is  to  the  Missouri  River  that  the  Mississippi  is  indebted 
for  its  current  and  its  turbid  waters.  Though  very  low  on 
my  trip,  still  it  rushed  like  a  torrent,  and  I  witnessed  several 
of  those  landslides,  on  a  small  scale,  which  arc  perpetually 
changing  the  channel  of  the  river,  and  making  the  stream 
itself  a  sort  of  running  mud  hole.  The  passage  of  steamboats 
at  low  water  on  this  river  is  one  of  the  marvels  <>f  navigation. 
In  many  places  not  only  is  the  channel  narrow,  but  from 
bank  to  bank  it  seems  guarded  by  the  most  formidable  snags, 
straight,  crooked,  forked,  pointing  outward,  inward,  cross- 
wise, forming  often  what  in  military  phrase  are  called  ckevaux 
i/t  /rise.  I  very  often  thought  our  craft  was  at  the  end  of 
her  journeying,  but  I  was  mistaken.  She  would  creep  in 
among  these  '  sawyers/  and  when  one,  being  struck,  would 
lower  his  head  a  little,  the  bell  would  ring,  and  on  would  go 
the  Steam,  and  over  and  through  we  would  pass.  I  soon 
learned  that  the  logs  which  keep  their  heads  above  water  and 
lie  parallel  with  the  current  are  DOtdl  much,   but  those 

which  lie  on  the  bottom  across  the  river  are  the  great  diffi- 
culty. I  found  much  amusement  in  listening  to  the  man  who 
sounded  the  depth,  and  I  soon  learned  to  prognosticate  a 
thump  upon  the  bottom.  The  man  throws  his  lead,  and  cries 
with  a  sort  of  Irish  accent  and  nasal  tone,  '  Six  fate — five 
fate  —  five  and  a  half — four  fate — three  and  a  half.'  Now  look 
out — '  Three  feet  !  '  There,  now  she  strikes.  The  boat  is 
fast  on  a  sand-bar,  or  balanced  on  a  log.  When  she  will 
get  off  is  doubtful  ;  perhaps  in  an  hour — it  may  be  a  half 
day.  Sometimes,  while  we  were  struggling  to  move  along, 
within  sight  might  be  seen  two  or  three  other  boats  all  fast 
— puffing  and  paddling,  spars  in  the  water,  capstan  turning, 
all  hands  busy,  and,  sad  to  tell,  many  tongues  blaspheming. 
Backward    or   forward,   no  matter   which    way,   so   the  boat 


1855.]  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  217 

moves.  Sooner  or  later  the  task  is  finished,  and  on  we  go 
rejoicing,  but  fearing  a  like  mishap. 

1 '  At  Jefferson  City,  a  man  came  aboard  who  keeps  a  wood- 
yard  just  above.  While  standing  alone  he  approached  me, 
and  as  I  made  some  slight  remark  about  the  river  as  a  navig- 
able stream,  he  broke  forth  into  the  most  eloquent  eulogium  : 
'  More  boats  plied  its  waters,  fewer  accidents  occurred  on  it, 
it  was  navigable  longer  in  the  year,  than  any  river  in  the 
United  States.'  Said  I,  '  Is  it  better  than  the  Hudson  ?  ' 
'  Ah  !  stranger,  I  give  that  up.  That  is  just  one  river  alone 
by  itself.'  Content  with  checkmating  his  self-conceit  even 
for  a  moment,  I  let  him  go  on.  '  Diana  of  the  Ephesians ' 
was  '  great,'  for  by  her  he  got  his  gain  in  the  sale  of  wood. 

"  Leaving  St.  Louis  on  Thursday,  we  expected  to  reach 
Boonville  on  Saturday  evening,  but  the  logs  and  the  sand- 
bars delayed  us  till  Sabbath  afternoon.  I  must  not  omit  to 
mention  that  when  I  called,  on  the  passage,  at  the  captain's 
office,  to  pay  my  fare,  he — as  they  say  on  the  Western  waters 
— '  chalked  my  hat ;  '  which  being  interpreted  means,  that 
he  charged  nothing  either  for  me  or  my  son. 

"  On  going  ashore,  I  went  up  to  the  hotel  and  found  it 
crowded,  but  succeeded  in  obtaining  a  room,  as  I  promised  to 
leave  early  in  the  morning.  I  longed  for  my  supper.  My  time 
came  at  last,  and  I  did  ample  justice  to  a  feast  of  fat  things. 

"When  I  came  out,  the  church-bells  were  ringing,  and  I 
sallied  out  to  find  the  Methodist  church.  After  many  in- 
quiries I  found  it,  and  stopped  at  the  door,  intending,  if  I 
could  identify  the  preacher,  to  reveal  myself  and  preach  for 
him.  In  this  I  failed,  and  so  I  sat  down  with  the  few  who 
were  out,  and  heard  a  very  fair  sermon  from  the  preacher  in 
charge. 

"  Early  in  the  morning  we  left,  without  guide  or  any  par- 
ticular directions,  for  Versailles — forty  miles  distant — on  our 
way  to  the  Indian  Mission  Conference.  For  miles  we  met 
the  country-people  going  in  to  the  fair.  Every  kind  of  ve- 
hicle had  been  pressed  into  service,  and,  in  the  way  of  loco- 
motives, the  animal  world  was  well  represented.      Of  course 


218  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  I   i:u"  x 

the  horse  was  the  most  popular  as  a  riding  animal,  but  seve- 
ral persons  were  mounted  on  ox-back. 

"  And  here  let  me  say,  the  ox  in  Northern  Missouri  is  as 
far  superior  in  size  to  the  Carolina  and  Georgia  steers,  as 
Job's  warhorse  to  an  Indian  pony.  They  are  an  elephantine 
race.  Four,  six,  and  eight  pair,  all  of  which  I  saw,  consti- 
tute a  team,  equal  to  any  load  a  in  bear.  It  is  com- 
mon to  hitch  sixteen  of  these  bovine  monsters  to  a  plough  to 
turn  over  the  prairie  sod.  The  plough  cuts  thirty-six  inches 
with  ever\-  furrow.  I  saw  this  work  going  on,  and  it  made 
me  ashamed  of  Southern  agriculture. 

"  During  this   day's   ride,  for   the   first  time   in    my  life,  I 

nafidi  prairie.     After  passing  over  a  very  broken 

country,  well  wooded,  anil  tolerably  settled,  we  came  sud- 
denly on  one  of  those  widespread  plains  with  which  the 
West  abounds.  I  call  them  plains,  because  in  them  arc  hun- 
dreds of  acres  perfectly  level;  they  titute  of  timber, 
and  there  is  very  little  to  obstruct  the  vision  ;  but  generally 

they  are  undulating.  They  remind  one  of  the  ocean  ;  and 
if,  when  the  sea  i--  rolling  in  heavy  swells,  its  waters  could  be 
arrested    in  their  nd   all   made  still,  the   type  would  be 

perfect.  In  these  almost  boundless  wilds,  water  is  scarce, 
but  r  a  stream  runs,  there  the  timber  grows,  and,  of 

course,  near  tin-       two  ind  e  articles,  all  the  settle- 

ments arc  t'  »und.  The  scarcity  of  water  and  the  intense  cold 
of  this  region  arc  the  great  drawbacks  upon  this  otherwise 
very  desirable  country.  The  land  is  fertile — producing  from 
fifteen  to  thirty  bushels  of  wheat  to  the  acre,  and  from  fifty 
ne  hundred  bushels  of  corn.  Oats  of  the  finest  quality 
are  abundant,  and  I  found  that  my  horses,  fed  on  clean  oats, 
travelled  with  more  spirit  and  seemed  less  fatigued  with  a 
long  drive  than  when  fed  on  corn. 

"  With  a  good  road  and  fresh  horses,  we  accomplished  the 
first  day's  travel  and  reached  the  inn  at  the  little  prairie  town 
before  sundown.  It  was  the  first  day  of  October,  and  very 
cold,  and  we  found  the  fireside  a  very  pleasant  retreat  from 
the  sharp  winds  which  had  fanned  us  all  the  day  long. 


1853-1  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  219 

"  Oa  the  next  day  we  pursued  our  journey,  forty  miles,  to 
Warsaw,  on  the  Osage  River.  The  hotel  was  undergoing  re- 
pairs, and  we  had  very  airy  lodgings  for  a  cold  night.  On 
inquiry,  the  inn-keeper  told  me  that  he  paid  sixty-six  dollars 
a  thousand  for  every  foot  of  lumber  he  was  using.  He 
bought  in  St.  Louis,  shipped  to  Boonville,  and  then  wagoned 
it  eighty  miles.  Pretty  expensive  and  troublesome  building, 
that! 

"  Warsaw  aspires  to  the  dignity  of  an  inland  port.  This 
she  expects  to  realize  by  narrowing  the  channel  of  the  river 
just  opposite.  At  this  point  the  stream  is  wide  and  flat,  with 
a  gravelly  bed.  When  we  crossed  by  fording  next  morning, 
we  found  two  men  and  mules  with  scrapers  raking  the  gravel 
into  a  ridge  on  one  side,  hoping,  I  suppose,  that  the  current 
would  do  the  digging  and  the  deepening.  The  faith  of  the 
people  in  the  success  of  the  project  must  be  weak,  as  they 
employ  such  cheap  machinery  in  the  enterprise. 

"  To-day  on  the  Osage,  and  the  streams  which  run  into  it, 
we  have  some  very  fine  lands,  but  the  settlements  are  few 
and  far  between.  When  we  reached  the  next  noted  stand, 
late  in  the  afternoon,  the  proprietor  informed  us  that  he 
could  not  take  us  in,  as  his  family  were  sick,  and  his  lots 
crowded  with  mules  on  their  way  to  the  South.  He  said 
there  was  a  house  five  miles  ahead  where  we  could  find  lodg- 
ings. 

"  On  we  went,  and  found  the  house,  and  hailed  its  in- 
mates :  a  lad  of  some  sixteen  summers  came  out,  and  told  us 
very  decidedly  that  we  could  not  stay  there.  '  Why,  I  was 
told  you  kept  a  public-house  here.'  '  We  did,'  said  he,  '  but 
we  have  never  taken  anybody  in  since  that  storm.'  The 
sun  was  setting,  and  a  cloudy  night  at  hand.  '  How  far  to 
the  next  house  ?'     '  Five  miles,'  was  the  answer. 

"  Once  more  we  took  up  the  line  of  march.  Darkness 
came  down  upon  us — the  road  was  invisible — the  horses 
nearly  out  of  sight — the  rain  threatening  to  descend,  and  yet 
no  sign  of  a  human  habitation.  Now  the  idea  struck  me 
that  possibly  we  had  passed  the  place,  and  to  move  on  or  go 


220  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  ickap.  x. 

back  was  a  question  of  no  little  concern.  In  mid  debate  of 
this  interesting  topic,  we  found  ourselves  out  of  the  road 
among  the  bushes.  The  point  of  our  departure  was  uncer- 
tain, and  on  which  side  of  us  lay  the  right  track  was  some- 
what doubtful — no  very  pleasant  condition  in  a  thinly  in- 
habited region.  We  put  out  for  the  prairie  on  our  left,  trust- 
ing that  instinct  and  habit  would  incline  the  horses  to  take 
the  road  if  we  struck  it  at  all.      In  this  we  jud  itly,  and 

a  mile  or  less  brought  us  to  the  desired  haven.     The  light 

Lining  through  the  window  upon  the  outer  darkness,  and 
the  soft  voice  which  cried  '  Come  in,'  were  very  grateful,  as 
they  ended  our  anxieties,  and  promised  resttoour  weariness. 

"At  this  place  lived  an  old  widow  and  her  daughter.     They 

were  Methodists — the  house  was  one  of  the  preaching  places 
for  the  circuit.     So   I  let  them  know  that  1  was  a  preacher, 

and  they  made  me  feel  epiite  at  home.  Presently  a  foot- 
traveller  arrived,  and  he  too  was  admitted  under  the  hospit- 
able roof.  After  prayer  we  retired,  and  the  pedestrian  in- 
formed me  he  was  returning  from  Kansas— of  which  he  gave 

it.      lie   left,    he   said,    because   they   had  so  little 

iching  out  there.  Hut  this  man,  who  loved  the  gospel  so 
well,  left  without  paying  his  bill  in  the  morning.  O,  human 
nature  ! 

"  The  next  day  we  had  tin-  pleasure  of  driving  thro 
prairie  mud,  with  ever  and  anon  a  descending  shower,  and 
both  together  made  travelling  a  task  to  our  horses,  and 
brought  us  once  more  into  the  night  before  we  reached  lodg- 
ings. Amid  rain  and  cold  we  arrived  at  Springfield,  which, 
like  '  Fame's  proud  temple,'  rests  upon  an  eminence,  up 
which  the  traveller  toils  with  slow  and  laborious  steps. 

"  The  next  morning  it  was  sleeting,  and  soon  after  we  left, 
a  genuine  snow-storm  fell  upon  us  for  three  hours  or  more — 
to  a  Southern  man,  a  strange  sight  for  the  fifth  day  of  Octo- 
ber. With  bad  road,  rain,  sleet,  and  snow,  we  took  up  early 
in  the  evening,  and  found  comfortable  entertainment  at  Mr. 
Smith's.     Whether  it  was  '  John'  or  not,  I  did  not  inquire. 

"  The  next  day  we  passed  over  a  road,  the  beauty  of  which 


1&5.1  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  221 

would  repay  one  for  the  trouble  of  going  to  see  it.  It  winds 
along  a  valley,  for  the  most  part,  sometimes  with  lofty  ridges 
on  either  side,  covered  with  white  flint  rock — tall  trees,  without 
any  undergrowth,  towering  up  from  base  to  summit,  and  pre- 
sently a  mountain  lifts  its  majestic  form  before  you  ;  and  all 
the  while,  without  jolt  or  jar,  even  wearied  horses  will  carry 
you  over  the  gravelly  road,  six  or  seven  miles  the  hour.  It 
is  Macadamized  by  Nature's  cunning  hand,  smooth,  elastic, 
and  generally  descending  in  the  direction  we  were  going.  The 
very  horses  seemed  low-spirited,  when  by  and  by  we  reached 
the  hills  and  the  rocks.  The  last  few  miles  of  this  day's  travel 
were  rough  enough  to  endear  the  morning's  ride,  and  to 
make  a  stopping  place  very  desirable.  We  found  it  at  the 
house  of  a  gentleman  whose  face  struck  me  as  familiar,  and, 
on  asking  after  his  '  antecedents,'  I  found  that  he  used  to 
bring  horses  to  my  native  county  in  my  early  boyhood. 

"  The  next  day  was  the  Sabbath,  and  we  left  to  reach  Ben- 
tonville,  a  little  town  in  North  Arkansas,  in  time  for  preach- 
ing. But  the  wretched  road  defeated  us.  We  were  too  late 
— the  congregation  was  dispersing  as  we  came  in  sight,  and 
nothing  was  left  us  but  to  hunt  a  home  for  the  evening  and 
night.  This  we  found  by  going  beyond  the  village  to  an  old 
widow-lady's,  to  whose  hospital  roof  we  were  recommended. 
We  found  her  alone,  old,  crippled,  but  cheerful,  a  beautiful 
example  of  Christian  trust  and  hope.  Seldom  have  I  had  a 
more  pleasant  or  profitable  conversation  than  with  this  aged 
disciple.  Religion  was  to  her  a  companion  and  a  guardian,  a 
solace,  and  an  earnest  of  heaven  to  come.  It  was  beautiful 
to  see  her  old  eyes  flash  with  inward  joy,  and  to  hear  her 
tongue,  eloquent  with  intelligence  and  piety,  discourse  of  her 
trust  in  Providence,  and  her  readiness  to  depart  when  the 
Master  should  call. 

"  After  tea  and  evening  prayer,  as  my  son  and  myself  were 
about  to  retire,  she  asked  if  I  would  object  to  sleeping  in  a 
room  where  there  was  a  large  pile  of  apples.  I  told  her,  '  I 
had  no  objection,  but  I  did  not  think  it  safe  for  her  to  trust 
my  travelling  companion  in  such  a  place.'     She  laughed,  and 


222  Life  ami  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  [Cha*.  x. 

told  Lovick  to  take  as  many  as  he  wanted.  He  was  not  slow 
to  take  her  at  her  word.  The  supply  relieved  our  thirst,  in 
the  absence  of  water,  many  a  time  in  the  next  two  or  three 
days.  This  fruit  is  raised  abundantly  in  the  region  through 
which  we  were  passing,  and  pays  well  when  carried  to  mar- 
ket. Large  quantities  are  wagoned  to  Western  Texas,  and 
sold  at  ten  cents  per  apple.     A  very  remunerative  price  ! 

"  On  Monday  morning  we  left  our  venerable  hostess,  and 
took  a  sort  of  trail  to  the  Cherokee  Nation.  The  way  was 
very  narrow,  but  open  and  remarkably  well  located,  consider- 
ing the  topograph}-  of  the  country.  About  noon  we  crossed 
the  line  and  left  the  States  behind  us.  My  son  had  never 
seen  an  Indian,  and  was  all  curiosity.  It  was  not  long  before 
we  came  suddenly  upon  a  group  of  men  and  women,  boys 
and  girls,  in  the  yard  before  a  little  cabin.  They  were  taken 
by  surprise,  and  contrary  to  Indian  habit,  gave  themselves  up 
to  wonder  at  seeing  a  man  on  wheels  in  that  wild  region. 
One  pair  of  zed  on  them  from  the  buggy  in  eager  ob- 

servation. I  reined  up,  slackened  speed,  that  both  parties 
might  be  satisfied,  and  wished  for  a  daguerreotypist  to  take 
the  picture.  That  night,  we  stayed  with  a  half-breed,  and 
took  our  first  lesson  in  the  fare  of  the  Indian  country.  The 
mistress  <>f  the  house,  however,  was  a  white  woman,  and 
rather  neat  and  tidy  in  her  person  and  domestic  economy. 
I  have  seen  better  places,  and  I  have  seen  worse. 

"  On  the  8th  of  October  we  rode  into  Tahlequah,  the  capi- 
tal of  the  Cherokee  Nation.  The  Council  was  in  session,  and 
we  tarried  an  hour  or  two  to  dine  and  see  the  chief  men  of 
the  tribe.  The  house  at  which  we  stopped  was  kept  by  an  In- 
dian and  his  wife — both  full-bloods — and  we  found  every- 
thing clean  and  nice.  The  man  was  absent,  but  the  lady 
entertained  us  well,  both  with  her  cooking  and  her  conversa- 
tion. John  Ross,  the  chief,  we  failed  to  see,  as  he  had  gone 
out  to  his  residence,  four  miles  distant.  During  the  year  he 
had  joined  the  Methodists,  and  promises  to  exert  a  most 
wholesome  moral  influence  upon  his  people. 

"  The  Indian  Mission  Conference  was  to  meet  in  the  morn- 


]855-]  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  223 

ing  at  nine  o'clock,  and  I  was  still  near  seventy  miles  short  of 
it.     We  left  reluctantly,  but  duty  urged  us  on. 

"That  night  we  reached  Fort  Gibson,  and  stayed  with  a 
man  who  is  worthy  of  some  description.  He  was  an  old 
soldier,  holding  the  post  of  ordnance-sergeant,  but  has  un- 
questionably outlived  the  days  of  active  service.  Like  Fal- 
staff,  he  is  of  goodly  dimensions,  exceeding  any  man  in  the 
girth  I  ever  saw.  Though  the  weather  was  cold,  he  was  in 
his  shirt-sleeves,  and  was  puffing  as  one  oppressed  with  heat. 
When  we  drove  up,  he  very  bluffly  declined  to  receive  us,  de- 
claring that  he  did  not  keep  a  public  house.  '  I  was  directed 
to  your  house,  sir,  with  the  assurance  that  you  did  take  in 
travellers.'  'Well,  I  do,  sometimes,  but  my  wife  is  sick, 
and  I  am  not  fixed  for  you.'  '  Where  can  I  stay  to-night  ?' 
He  commenced  giving  me  directions  to  another  house  ;  when 
in  the  midst,  he  paused,  and,  with  an  expletive  I  will  not  re- 
peat, he  said,  '  It  is  too  bad  to  send  a  gentleman  to  such  a 
place  ;  get  down,  I  will  do  the  best  I  can  for  you.'  Down 
we  got,  and  having  provided  for  our  horses — being  waited  on 
by  a  Creek  Indian  who  could  not  speak  a  word  of  English — 
we  entered  the  house,  and  found  a  retired  soldier's  fare  not 
bad  to  take  at  the  end  of  a  long  day's  journey, 

"  In  the  morning,  the  old  sergeant  asked  me  if  I  was  not  a 
'  professor  of  the  gospel.'  Paying  the  heaviest  bill  on  the 
whole  route,  we  left  in  haste  to  reach  the-  Asbury  Manual 
Labor  School,  the  seat  of  the  Conference. 

"  Within  a  mile  of  the  Fort  we  crossed  the  Neosho  and 
Arkansas  Rivers,  fording  both'with  ease.  Ascending  the  bank 
of  the  last  and  crossing  the  swamp,  we  entered  upon  the 
prairie  once  again.  The  country  from  Tahlequah,  in  the 
Cherokee,  to  North  Fork,  in  the  Creek  Nation,  is  the  most 
picturesque  I  ever  saw.  The  views  are  sometimes  enchant- 
ing. Valleys,  plains,  and  hills — the  last  often  naked,  diversi- 
fied in  form,  sometimes  crowned  with  timber — variegate  the 
scenery  and  furnish  the  eye  with  endless  gratification.  Oc- 
casionally the  slate  rock  crops  out  on  the  side  of  some  gentle 
acclivity,  and  forms  a  wall  so  regular  as  to  suggest  the  idea 


•J2-4  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  [Ohap.  x. 

that  art  has  been  lending  its  aid  to  enclose  a  lawn  or  garden  ; 
and  the  trees  above  grow  with  such  regularity  as  to  complete 
the  illusion,  and  leave  you  under  the  expectation  of  seeing  a 
white  cottage  gleaming  through  the  foliage.  But  no — Nature 
alone  is  here.  From  some  primeval  period — how  far  back 
in  the  roll  of  centuries  who  can  tell  ? — these  scenes  have 
blossomed  in  vernal  and  in  summer  suns  and  rains — faded  in 
autumn — perished  in  winter — but  to  revive  in  beauty  more 
luxuriant,  with  only  some  wandering  eye  to  admire  them. 
Our  Maker  must  delight  in  the  beautiful,  or  there  would  not 
have  been  such  a  seeming  waste  of  tints  and  hues  and  all  the 
forms  of  wild  natural  scenery. 

"  The  hills  of  which  I  write  sometimes  aspire  to  the  dig- 
nity of  mountains.  One,  called  Chimney  Mountain,  from  its 
peculiar  shape,  seems  to  preside  over  the  prairie  and  to  watch 
every  passer-by.  For  twenty  miles  or  more  it  is  seemingly 
about  you  ;  you  cannot  escape  it  ;  turn  any  way,  there  it  is; 
you  feel  haunted  and  then  attracted  ;  and  when  at  last  some 
rival  mound,  aided  by  distance,  hides  it  from  your  vision,  you 
feel  as  if  you  had  l<><>ked  for  the  last  time  on  some  old 
familiar  landmark,  or  had  bidden  a  friend  farewell.  To  see 
this  country  in  the  spring,  when  the  grass  is  green  and  the 
new,  if  1  had  the  time  (and  the  money),  I  would 
cheerfully  encounter  the  labor  of  this  long,  long  travel.  At 
such  a  time  it  must  be  'beautiful  exceedingly.' 

"  Early  in  the  afternoon,  after  a  hard  drive  of  forty-five 
miles,  we  reached  the  place  of  Conference,  and  received  a 
hearty  welcome  from  the  white  man  and  the  Indian. 

"  On  our  arrival  at  the  Asbury  Manual  Labor  School, 
after  the  salutations  of  friends  and  an  introduction  to 
strangers,  our  first  request  was  for  water — the  best  of  all 
beverages,  and  never  more  appreciated  by  us  than  at  this 
time.  Forty-five  miles — frairie  miles,  the  longest  in  the 
world — we  had  travelled  without  the  refreshment  of  water  for 
man  or  beast,  and  a  cool  draught  from  a  living  well  was  a 
luxury  beyond  price.  The  whole  region  over  which  we  had 
passed    during   the    day   was   suffering    from   a  drought   of 


1855-]  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  225 

eighteen  months'  duration.  The  creeks  and  branches  which, 
in  an  ordinary  season,  wind  their  serpentine  way  through 
these  grassy  plains,  had  long  since  ceased  to  run,  and  the 
Indian  inhabitants  and  the  passing  traveller  were  alike  de- 
pendent upon  the  stagnant  pools,  which  the  cattle  had  fouled 
with  their  feet.  When  offered  to  my  horses,  they  blew  their 
nostrils  in  disgust,  and,  though  suffering  from  thirst,  declined 
the  noxious  mass — it  could  hardly  be  called  a  fluid.  The 
people,  however,  take  up  a  bucket  of  this  mixture  and  leave 
it  to  settle.  When  the  dirt  has  been  precipitated  and  the 
surface  has  been  skimmed,  the  liquid  is  tolerable,  'in  a  dry 
and  thirsty  land,  where  no  water  is.' 

"  It  would  be  well  if  all  who  are  skeptical  about  the  possi- 
bility of  evangelizing  the  Indians  could  attend  a  session  of 
our  Conference  among  them.  Indeed,  even  those  who  never 
doubted  the  redeeming,  elevating  power  of  the  gospel  might 
have  their  faith  confirmed  and  their  ideas  exalted  by  the 
services  and  sympathies  of  such  an  occasion.  I  confess  to 
strange  and  commingled  emotions,  for  days  and  nights,  while 
the  business  of  Conference  was  in  progress.  The  place,  the 
school,  the  Conference,  each  and  all  make  an  interesting 
paragraph  in  the  current  history  of  this  aboriginal  race.  But 
a  generation  gone  they  were  heathens  ;  now  they  have  flour- 
ishing academies,  houses  of  religious  worship,  the  apparel 
and  the  manners  of  civilization,  districts,  stations,  and  circuits, 
the  white  man's  book,  his  gospel,  and  his  preacher. 

"  How  strange  is  every  thing  around  me !  I  have  just 
passed  over  a  wild,  vacant  country,  dreary  but  for  its  beauty, 
with  here  and  there,  at  long  intervals,  a  hut  or  wigwam  ;  and 
now,  here  is  a  large  three-story  brick  building — a  school- 
house — with  superintendent,  teachers,  male  and  female,  and 
an  Annual  Conference  assembled  within  its  walls  !  The  bell 
rings,  and  we  all  descend  to  the  dining-hall ;  the  boys  sit  at 
one  table,  a  teacher  at  the  head  ;  the  girls  at  another,  the 
guests  at  a  third.  All  in  order;  no  rushing  and  jamming; 
and  now  every  one  at  his  place  awaits  in  silence  the  invoca- 
tion of  a  blessing  upon  the  bounteous  board.  Is  this  an 
is 


22G  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  {Cuap.  x. 

Indian  country  ?  Who  maketh  these  to  differ  from  their  kind 
and  even  from  themselves  ?  Is  this  magic  ?  Yes,  but  not  of 
Aladdin's  Lamp.  Christian  benevolence  has  wrought  the 
change.  The  gospel  and  schools,  Christianity  and  education, 
have  greatly  reformed,  improved,  and  elevated  these  tribes. 
You  can  see  it  in  the  first  red  man  you  meet  on  the  highway. 
Yon  cabin  and  enclosure  evince  the  fact.  That  quiet  audi- 
ence, eager  for  the  word  of  life,  proclaims  the  change  and  the 
cause  of  it.  Listen  to  that  song — that  prayer.  The  dialect 
is  strange — an  unknown  tongue — you  cannot  understand  it; 
but  you  feet  that  he  who  speaks  '  knows  in  whom  he  has  be- 
lieved.' From  a  thousand  causes  the  tendency  among  all  the 
roaming  tribes  is  to  extinction.     They  are  perishing.      Every 

r  leaves  their  numbers  less.  But  the  Chcrokces,  Creeks, 
and  Choctaws  multiply — increase.  Chili  Mcintosh  informed 
me  that  the  Creeks  had  increased  two  thousand in  five  years  / 
This  fact  proves  a  change  of  habits,  physical  and  moral,  and 
is  a  decided  vindication  of  the  plans  of  the  Government  in 
their  settlement,  and  of  the  Church  in  their  instruction. 

"The   d  learn  the  English  language  is  almost  mu- 

ll among  them.  They  seem  to  regard  the  knowledge  of 
it  as  one  of  the  chief  agents  of  their  elevation,  and  as  a 
security  against  the  relapse  into  their  former  ignorance  and 
superstition.  This  is  a  powerful  motive  with  them  in  patro- 
nizing the  schools,  and  they  avow  the  wish  that  their 
language  may  perish  with  the  old  and  adult  population.  This 
is  the  true  policy  for  them  and  for  us.  It  is  a  sound,  albeit  it 
is  an  Indian's  philosophy.  And  I  will  say,  in  passing,  it  is 
the  right  policy  for  the  State  and  the  Church  in  reference  to 
all  our  foreign  population,  whether  we  seek  to  Americanize  or 
Christianize  them.  Individual  conversions  there  may  be,  but 
we  shall  never  imbue  the  mass  with  American  ideas,  senti- 
ments, and  the  Protestant  religion,  until  in  their  progress  and 
improvement  they  reach  a  point  at  which  we  can  communi- 
cate with  them  in  a  language  between  which  and  their  old 
ideas  there  is  no  association.  Without  this  the  work  of 
mental  amalgamation  will  never  go  on.     The  parent  will  per- 


1855-1  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  227 

petuate  in  his  child  all  his  transatlantic  errors,  political,  re- 
ligious, social,  and  ecclesiastical.  For  long,  long  generations 
they  will  be  as  French,  as  German,  as  Swedish  as  the  people 
they  left  in  their  fatherland. 

"  The  necessity  to  learn  our  language  ought  to  be  thrown 
upon  them  by  refusing  to  translate  our  laws  or  to  print  a 
paper  in  their  mother-tongue.  In  our  Church  movements  we 
should  rely  far  more  upon  Protestant  Christian  schools  for  the 
rising  generation,  than  upon  the  translation  of  the  Bible  and 
preaching  to  the  adults.  This  subject  is  delicate  in  its  rela- 
tion, but  it  is  worthy  of  discussion. 

"  I  must  close  my  account  of  this  interesting  Indian  Mission 
Conference.  Nothing  special  occurred  during  the  session 
save  the  admission  into  the  travelling  connection  of  James 
McHenry — better  known  in  Georgia  and  Alabama  as  '  Jim 
Henry' — the  hero  of  the  Creek  war  in  1836.  The  lion  has 
become  a  lamb — the  brave  a  preacher.  The  war-whoop  is 
hushed  ;  the  midnight  foray  is  with  the  past  ;  the  Bible  and 
the  Hymn  Book  fill  the  hands  that  once  grasped  the  torch 
and  tomahawk.  The  bold,  valiant  savage,  who  spread  con- 
sternation among  the  peaceful  settlements  on  either  side  of 
the  Chattahoochee,  now  travels  a  circuit,  preaching  peace  on 
earth,  good-will  to  men.  The  Lord  make  him  an  apostle  to 
his  people  !  He  does  not  like  to  allude  to  his  past.  This 
shows  the  genuineness  of  his  repentance.  A  professor  who 
delights  in  the  narration  of  the  evil  deeds  of  other  days  dis- 
honors himself.  He  ought  to  be  '  ashamed.'  A  good  man 
always  is.  The  memory  of  the  past  is  the  burden  of  the 
present  and  a  shadow  upon  the  future.  He  remembers  not  to 
boast  in  idle  story,  but  to  repent.  He  begs  God  to  forgive 
and  bless,  that  he  himself  may  never  forget. 

"  One  day  a  brother  informed  me  that  the  Indian  preachers 
wished  to  hold  a  '  council '  with  me,  and  requested  me  to 
designate  an  hour  for  the  interview.  I  did  so,  not  knowing 
what  they  wished.  They  came  to  my  room  at  the  appointed 
time,  and  seated  themselves  in  grave  silence.  I  waited  in 
vain  for  them  to  open  their  minds.      That  is  not  Indian  eti- 


228  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierre.  tCnA1'  x 

quette  on  such  occasions.  They  were  waiting  for  me,  and  so 
I  inquired  about  what  matter  they  wished  to  consult,  and 
learned  that  they  only  desired  to  talk  with  me  in  their  own 
way  about  the  Church  and  the  schools,  and  the  wants  of  the 
nation.  They  were  interested  in  the  welfare  of  their  people, 
and  had  formed  very  intelligent  notions  of  their  wants,  and  of 
the  best  modes  of  supply. 

"  In  the  midst  of  our  talk,  Chili  Mcintosh — well-known  in 
Georgia,  in  the  days  of  '  Troup  and  the  Treaty  ' — came  in. 
The  son  of  an  old  chief,  himself  a  chief,  the  Indians  all  rose, 
in  respect  to  the  man  and  his  title.  They  called  him  General. 
I  had  seen  him  at  my  native  town  (Greensboro),  in  my  early 
boyhood,  when,  in  the  costume  of  an  American  Major- 
General,  and  accompanied  by  some  fifteen  or  twenty  of  his 
warriors,  he  visited  several  places  in  Georgia.  The  boys  and 
the  ladies  were  all  greatly  impressed,  during  that  tour,  with 
his  manly  beaut)-.  He  was  caressed,  and  dined,  and  toasted 
everywhere.  He  made  a  triumphal  march  through  the 
country.  In  conversation,  I  found  that  he  remembered  every 
incident,  private  and  public,  in  his  visit  to  Greensboro. 
Among  the  re^t,  I  reminded  him  of  a  question  proposed  to 
him  by  my  father,  and  told  him  how  as.  a  boy  I  was  impressed 
by  his  answer.  The  question  was  :  '  Is  there  any  word  in 
the  Creek  language  for  blaspheming  the  name  of  God?' 
The  answer  was  :  '  There  is  not.'  lie  remembered  the  con- 
versation, and  reaffirmed  his  answer,  appealing  to  his  country- 
men for  its  correctness.  They  all  agreed  he  was  right,  and 
with  one  voice  declared  that  '  If  an  Indian  wanted  to  say  bad 
.  he  must  talk  English, .' 

"  Mcintosh  has  not  the  height  or  majesty  of  person  with 
which  my  boyish  fancy  invested  him  in  other  days.  Though 
not  an  old  man,  he  is  now  very  gray ;  has  a  mild,  gentle  face, 
more  expressive  of  humor  than  of  boldness,  and  looks  as  if  he 
would  like  a  joke  better  than  a  fight.  In  conversation  he  is 
entertaining,  quick-witted,  and  ready  at  any  time  for  a  little 
fun.  Wishing  to  hear  him  talk,  I  asked  him  various  questions 
about  his  people,  the  country,  the  soil,  and  the  prospects  of 


1855.J  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  229 

the  Nation.  He  says  it  is  a  much  better  country  than  the  one 
they  left,  though,  for  years,  the  people  were  dissatisfied.  On 
their  removal,  sickness  prevailed,  many  died,  and  they  de- 
creased fearfully  in  numbers;  but  trial  and  experience  re- 
conciled them.  They  could  not  be  induced  to  return.  He 
says  every  man  coming  to  that  region  must  pass  through  a 
process  of  acclimation.  Fever  and  ague  are  the  doom  of 
every  settler.  He  said  to  me,  '  If  you  will  stay  three  weeks, 
we  will  shake  you  in.'  As  I  did  not  tarry  so  long,  I  escaped 
the  promised  initiation. 

"  On  Sabbath  morning  I  performed  the  task  of  preaching 
through  an  interpreter.  It  is  not  so  difficult  as  I  imagined. 
A  man  has  time  enough  to  think.  Give  me  a  sentence  to 
start  with,  then,  having  common  liberty  of  thought,  I  could 
make  the  rest  in  the  intervals.  An  idea  which  I  could  con- 
vey in  a  dozen  words,  the  interpreter  would  take  a  minute  or 
two  to  explain.  My  discourse,  I  am  confident,  could  be  de- 
livered in  forty  minutes  ;  but,  pronounced  and  interpreted,  it 
consumed  two  hours.  The  plan  does  not  suit  me.  I  keep 
too  cool.  Those  who  are  accustomed  to  it  enjoy  it.  They 
say  they  have  the  same  expansion  of  thought,  the  same  gush- 
ing feelings  as  when  preaching  to  the  whites.  Avery  diffuse 
speaker  might  achieve  an  important  reformation  in  his  style, 
by  the  exercise.  Some  of  our  long-winded  parsons  would 
break  down  in  the  legs,  at  least,  if  they  did  not  quickly  learn 
to  diminish  the  number  of  sentences  and  curtail  them  in 
length. 

"On  Sabbath  night  I  tried  to  preach,  by  request,  with- 
out an  interpreter,  as  most  of  the  Indians  would  understand 
me,  and  many  whites  were  anxious  to  hear.  Brother  Mit- 
chell concluded  with  an  exhortation,  and  invited  mourners  to 
the  altar  ;  several  came  forward,  and  the  closing  exercises 
were  resigned  to  the  Indian  preachers.  They  sang,  prayed, 
wept,  clapped  their  hands,  and  seemed  as  much  at  home  in 
the  business  as  we  do  at  a  camp-meeting.  The  strange 
sounds,  all  barbarian  to  me,  amused  me  ;  but  the  hearty 
tones,  the  spirit,  the  earnestness  of  the  people,  melted  me  to 


230  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  [Chap,  x. 

tears.  I  felt  that  the  religion  of  the  Bible  had  obliterated  the 
distinctions  of  color,  race,  and  nation,  and  that  a  common 
salvation  made  us  brethren  in  spirit,  partakers  of  like  precious 
faith,  one  in  sympathy,  hope,  and  prospect. 

"In  conversation  with  the  brethren,  both  white  and  Ind- 
ian, I  was  interested  in  a  fact  of  which  I  had  not  thought  be- 
fore, but  which  on  digestion  I  regard  both  natural  and  philo- 
sophical. It  is,  to  speak  in  Methodist  phrase,  the  way  these 
simple,  untaught  people  get  religion.  With  them  there  is  no 
long  agony  of  repentance,  no  such  struggles  as  our  civilized, 
refined  -inner  -  pass  through  ;  but  the  moment  the  proposition 
that  Christianity  is  true  is  apprehended  and  embraced,  they 
submit.  The  argument  is  short,  overwhelming,  conclusive. 
The  Christian  religion  is  from  God  :  I  ought  to  have  it — I 
must  have  it — I  will  have  it.  Superstition,  sin,  pride,  self- 
will  are  swept  away  :  they  confess,  pray,  believe,  rejoice  ; 
and  their  after-life  attests  the  reality  of  their  moral  renewal. 
How  like  to  the  case  of  the  eunuch,  of  Lydia,  and  of  others 
is  this  !  With  them  the  truth  is  new — startling.  It  is  a  rev- 
elation, before  the  light  of  which  false  notions  vanish.  With 
US,  the  truth  is  familiar  :  we  kn<>w  it  ;  but  we  hold  it  in  un- 
5,  <  hir  convictions  are  diluted  with  vain  reason- 
ing, and  neutralized  by  long  resistance.  To  them,  the 
claims  of  God  and  the  necessities  of  their  nature  are  devel- 
oped in  the  light  of  a  sudden,  awful  demonstration,  and  they 
capitulate.  The  simplicity  and  tenderness  of  the  offered 
terms  of  reconciliation  subdue  their  fears,  and  the}-  yield  in 
transport  to  the  attractions  of  love  divine.  But  our  history 
is  one  of  hesitation,  debate,  contest  ;  and  when  we  conclude 
to  try,  our  purposes  falter;  indecision  relaxes  our  energies, 
doubts  embarrass  faith,  and  conversion  comes  at  the  end  of  a 
long,  hard  Struggle.  Simple  faith  saves  the  poor  Indian  in- 
stantly, but  we  are  too  smart  to  believe  so  easily,  and  must 
ask  questions,  and  have  a  long  strife  of  words  and  explana- 
tions before  we  can  venture  to  try  the  prescription." 

On  reaching  the  Nation,  he  wrote  his  daughter : 


i855.]  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  231 

"  Asbury  M.  L.  School, 
"Creek  Nation,  October  n,  1855. 

"My  Dear  ELLA:  We  reached  this  place  on  yesterday, 
thus  finishing  a  drive  of  four  hundred  miles  in  ten  days. 
But,  as  I  feared  when  I  wrote  last,  we  were  one  day  behind 
time.  We  had  a  hearty  welcome  from  white  and  red.  This 
Indian  country  is  beautiful,  but  sadly  wanting  in  water  and 
greatly  afflicted  with  drouth.  Of  its  scenery  I  must  defer  a 
description  until  I  get  back.  There  is  much  to  admire  and 
to  tempt  one  to  emigration,  if  there  were  not  so  many  draw- 
backs in  climate,  society,  and  the  absence  of  water.  On 
yesterday  we  travelled  forty-five  miles  without  a  drop  of  wa- 
ter, except  that  which  the  cattle  had  fouled  with  their  feet  ; 
literally  mud-holes,  some  of  them  covered  with  a  green  scum, 
which  the  Indians  skim  oft",  and  then  dip  up  and  drink.  But, 
oh  !  .the  prairies — how  beautiful.  We  had  to  stop  often  to 
admire.  Hills,  mounds,  pyramids,  mountains  in  the  dis- 
tance, and  then  the  lines  of  timber  marking  the  course  of  the 
wet-weather  creeks,  all  diversified  in  form  and  range,  consti- 
tute a  panorama  of  exquisite  beauty.  From  the  sublime  to 
the  ridiculous — Lovick  and  I  are  both  suffering  from  chapped 
lips.  The  wind  and  the  sun  on  the  prairies  both  helped  on 
this  calamity.  Mine  are  to-day  sore  with  fever-blisters,  and 
Doc  says  his  feel  like  he  had  been  eating  red  pepper.  You 
never  saw  a  little  fellow  open  his  eyes  like  he  did  when  he 
saw  the  first  Indian.  Eight  of  them  met  me  in  my  room  this 
evening,  to  hold  what  they  call  a  council.  It  was  quite  in- 
teresting. Doc  was  all  eyes  and  ears.  In  the  midst,  the  very 
man  we  wanted  to  see  (Chili  Mcintosh)  came  in.  He  was 
quite  humorous  in  some  of  his  remarks.  He  is  getting  old 
and  gray.  He  is  now  a  Baptist  preacher.  When  I  shall 
mail  this  I  do  not  know.    Good-night.     Heaven  bless  you  all. 

"  Most  affectionately, 

"G.  F.  P." 

"  Intercourse  with  my  brethren  in  the  ministry  is  always 
pleasant,  and  it  helps  to  make  my  office  tolerable  that  it 


232  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  [CnAr.  x. 

brings  me  into  contact  and  acquaintance  with  so  many 
whom  else  I  should  never  have  seen.  A  genuine  Methodist 
preacher  I  love  with  all  my  heart.  He  is  a  man  among  men. 
There  are  in  him  elements  of  moral  grandeur  which  exalt 
and  ought  to  canonize  him  in  public  estimation.  Who  loves 
the  country  or  does  more  for  it  than  he  ?  Who  is  more  dead 
to  the  world  and  self?  Self-denying,  self-sacrificing,  fearless 
of  winter's  cold  and  summer's  sun — carrying  the  gospel  to 
the  poor — undiscouraged  by  '  the  proud  man's  contumely  ' 
and  the  world's  neglect — he  is  always  a  hero,  and  sometimes 
a  martyr.  These  are  the  men  who  have  been  the  sturdy  pio- 
neers of  progress  and  order,  civilization  and  Christianity, 
over  all  our  Western  wilds.  The  politicians  and  public  men 
•  if  Texas  concede  that  but  for  the  presence  and  influence  of 
early  Methodist  preachers  there,  the)-  would  not  have  been 
able  to  maintain  civil  government  over  the  heterogeneous 
population  of  the  republic.  God  bless  the  memory  and  the 
example  of  these  hardy  veterans  of  the  cross  !  If  we  could 
carry  some  of  our  tender-footed,  soft-handed,  faint-hearted, 
delicate  parsons  out  West,  and  keep  them  from  breaking 
a  or  running  away,  long  enough  to  make  a  fair  experi- 
ment, they  might  become  men  in  the  run  of  time. 

"  These  red-men,  as  have  been  their  custom  from  the  be- 
ting, still  live  along  the  streams,  in  what  the)'  call  towns. 
These  straggling  settlements  are  far  apart,  and  here  the  cir- 
cuit preachers  make  their  appointments.  When  the  mission- 
ary rides  up  to  an  Indian  habitation,  no  matter  what  time  of 
day,  the  host  blows  a  horn,  and  this  is  the  signal  that  preach- 
ing will  come  on  as  soon  as  the  people  can  come  together. 
He  never  a>ks  the  preacher  if  he  is  sick  or  fatigued,  willing 
or  unwilling  ;  the  horn  sounds  and  the  people  come — there 
must  be  service.  The  most  material  drawback  on  the  com- 
fort of  this  work  is  that  so  much  time  is  consumed  in  riding. 
The  appointments  are  far  apart,  the  trails  lonely,  and  the 
only  relief  to  the  wayfarer  is  in  the  beauty  of  the  scenery 
and  the  piety  of  his  meditations.  On  Monday  morning,  the 
15th  of  October,  we  left  North  Fork  with  Brother  McAlister 


*855.]  life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  233 

and  Brother  Ewing,  for  the  Choctaw  Agency.  The  latter 
brother  was  expecting  to  be  transferred  from  the  Arkansas 
Conference,  and  to  take  work  among  the  Indians.  Tahle- 
quah  was  left  to  be  supplied  by  him.  The  brethren  were  on 
horseback,  and  the  roads  being  very  rough,  they  outwent  us 
a  little.  By-and-by  we  saw  them  ahead  on  the  bank  of  a 
river.  Brother  McAlister  dismounted,  punching  about  in 
the  edge  of  the  water  up  and  down  the  stream  with  his  um- 
brella. '  What  is  the  matter — what  do  you  mean  ? '  said  I. 
4  We  are  looking  for  a  place  to  cross.'  'What,  you  are 
not  afraid  to  plunge  into  this  little  branch  !  Why,  it  is  not 
knee-deep  !  '  '  Ah  !  '  said  Brother  McAlister,  '  the  quick- 
sand— the  qicicksand :  all  these  streams  are  dangerous.  Be 
sure  you  do  not  let  your  horses  stop  to  drink,  or  you  may 
be  swallowed  up.  Once  sink  a  little,  and  you  are  gone.' 
Thus  admonished,  we  drove  quickly  over  the  wide  but  shal- 
low stream.  Our  travelling  companions  entertained  us  with 
several  stories  about  these  quicksands — some  serious,  some 
ludicrous.  We  passed  them  all  in  safety  ;  but  I  will  say  I 
never  saw  such  sand-bars  and  beds  anywhere  else. 

"  To-day  we  crossed  a  mountain,  and  such  a  descent  on 
wheels  I  never  made  before.  When  we  reached  the  bottom 
I  could  hardly  persuade  myself  that  the  feat  had  been  accom- 
plished without  damage  to  the  vehicle.  This  was  one  of  the 
passages  in  life  in  which  there  were  more  'downs'  than  'ups.' 
Once  more  we  strike  out  upon  the  gently-rolling  prairie. 
Delightful  contrast !  We  had  not  travelled  far  ere  we  spied 
in  advance  of  us  a  caravan  of  wagons  and  ox-teams,  trailing 
its  slow  length  along  ;  and  as  we  drew  nigh,  we  heard, 
mingling  with  the  shouts  of  the  drivers,  the  cracking  of 
whips,  and  the  rumbling  of  wheels,  other  notes — so  disguised, 
however,  by  the  confusion  of  sounds,  that  we  could  not 
recognize  them  in  the  distance.  When  we  reached  the  head 
of  the  train,  lo  !  perched  upon  the  top  of  bales  and  boxes, 
and  yet  under  cover,  was  a  young  man  scraping  away  upon 
an  old  fiddle — a  perfect  picture  of  self-satisfaction,  oblivious 
with  delight.      He  did  not  seem  to  see  us.      '  The  world  for- 


234  Life  atui  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  [Chap.  X. 

getting,  by  the  world  forgot,'  he  was  beguiling  his  dull  voca- 
tion oi  its  weariness,  and  obviously  enjoyed  his  success.  As 
to  the  skill  of  the  performance  I  am  no  judge  ;  but,  to  my 
unmusical  car,  there  was  a  charm  in  the  tune  (J  do  not  know 
what  it  was),  as  its  soft  tones  floated  over  the  lone  wild.  It 
sounded  like  the  sad  wail  of  some  solitary  spirit  mourning  its 
exile  from  home  and  friends. 

"  About  noon  we  halted  on  the  bank  of  what  had  been  a 
small  stream — but  now  was  no  stream  at  all — to  rest  and 
lunch.  While  thus  engaged,  a  stranger  rode  up  on  a  gaunt, 
fiery  mustang,  dismounted,  and  made  himself  very  familiar 
in  the  way  of  chat.  We  invited  him  to  dine  ;  he  declined, 
saying  he  had  the  chills  and  was  not  hungry.  We  pressed 
him  a  little,  and  finally  overcame  his  coyness.  He  drew  out 
a  formidable  hunter's  knife,  and  made  sail  havoc  with  our 
bread  and  meat ;  but  he  especially  distinguished  himself 
when  he  came  to  our  dessert  of  cakes  and  pies.  We  had  laid 
in  enmigh  for  tv.  not  counting  our  unexpected  guest), 

but  our  store  'grew  small  by  decrees  and  beautifully  less' 
with  the  first  da]  >n.     The  rapid  disappearance  of 

the  peach  pies  distressed  Lovick  no  little.  He  said,  however, 
he  should  like  to  see  that  man  perform  when  he  had  an  ap- 
petiti. 

"  Late  in  the  evening,  we  began  to  cast  about  for  a  lodg- 
ing-place. Brother  McAlister  knew  the  way  and  the  chances, 
and  thought  a  night's  lodging  in  the  woods  through  which 
we  were  passing  not  improbable.  A  little  before  dark  we 
came  to  an  Indian  cabin,  and  by  signs  and  gestures  made 
known  our  wish  to  tarn'  for  the  night.  By  signs  and  gest- 
ures we  were  made  to  understand  that  we  could  stay.  We 
were  left,  of  course,  to  wait  upon  ourselves;  so  we  stripped 
our  horses  and  led  them  to  water;  and  when  we  returned, 
our  host  had  brought  to  the  lot  a  turn  of  corn  and  fodder, 
and  as  he  let  his  own  horses  out,  we  put  ours  in  and  fed  them 
to  our  hearts'  content.  Now  we  marched  to  the  house  to  see 
about  our  own  prospects  for  food  and  rest.  There  was  but 
one  room,  but  this  was  neat  and  comfortable,  save  that  there 


1855.]  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  235 

was  about  it  an  undefinable  odor,  anything  but  pleasant.  It 
is  common,  I  learned,  to  Indian  habitations.  The  man, 
his  wife  and  children,  were  well  clad,  and  were  attentive  and 
polite  according  to  their  notions.  Not  a  word  of  English 
could  we  get  from  any  of  the  household.  They  could  speak 
it,  for  they  understood  us  very  well  in  much  of  our  talk  ;  that 
was  very  obvious.  My  good  friend,  McAlister,  undertook  to 
secure  us  a  good  supper  by  giving  special  directions,  more 
particularly  about  the  coffee — with  me,  when  good,  a  favorite 
article.  But,  alas  !  he  succeeded  better  with  everything  else 
than  with  this  necessary  beverage. 

"Supper  over,  we  proposed  family-prayer.  Our  Choc- 
taw host  had  a  Bible,  and  they  all  seemed  to  know  what  we 
were  about.  Father,  mother,  children,  all  came  in,  seated 
themselves  very  devoutly,  and,  though  none  of  them  were 
religious,  manifested  no  little  interest  in  the  exercises.  I 
longed  to  give  them  a  word  of  exhortation,  but  my  ignorance 
of  their  language  forbade. 

"  When  bedtime  came  round,  the  family  all  retired  to  the 
kitchen,  and  left  us  to  occupy  the  chief  room — their  common 
dwelling.  The  beds — two  of  them — were  so  strongly  im- 
pregnated with  that  odor  I  declined  describing,  that  I  con- 
cluded to  make  a  bed  of  my  own.  Brother  McAlister  said 
his  nose  was  familiar  with  the  perfume  from  long  habit ;  and 
Brother  Ewing,  intending  to  transfer,  determined  to  begin 
his  education  that  night,  and  so  they  took  the  beds.  Lovick 
and  I  spread  down  the  buffalo-skin,  and,  with  cushions  for 
pillows,  and  cloaks  for  cover,  and  feet  to  the  fire,  slept  to  the 
break  of  day.  Nor  did  I  feel,  thank  God,  that  this  was  a 
hardship  in  the  service  of  my  Master.  He  'had  not  where 
to  lay  his  head.' 

"When  we  were  ready  for  a  start  in  the  morning,  I  deter- 
mined to  try  once  more  to  get  a  word  of  English  from  my 
Choctaw  friend.  I  said  to  him,  '  What  do  I  pay  you  ? '  His 
black  eye  twinkled  intelligently  :  '  Two  dollar,'  said  he.  O, 
the  magic  of  money  !  It  '  makes  the  mare  go,'  and  Indians 
talk — Anglo-Saxon. 


236  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  [Char  x. 

"  Shaking  hands  with  our  Choctaw  friends,  we  resumed 
our  journey.  The  soil  of  this  region  is  not  so  rich  as  that  in 
the  territory  of  the  Creeks,  but  there  are  fertile  spots  which 
will  repay  the  husbandman's  toil. 

"We  halted  at  noon  to  rest  our  wearied  steeds,  and  to 
consume  the  fraction  of  food  left  us  by  our  guest  of  yester- 
day. That  we  might  make  it  the  more  palatable,  a  fire  was 
kindled  ;  and,  for  the  nonce,  we  all  became  cooks,  each  for 
himself.  Brother  McAlistcr,  who  is  full  of  dry,  sly  humor, 
spiced  his  meal  by  a  facetious  conversation  with  Lovick  on 
the  art  of  cooking,  Indian  fashions,  and  sundry  little  inci- 
dents of  border  life. 

'  Early  in  the  afternoon  we  reached  Scully  ville,  the  Choc- 
taw Agency.  Here  is  quite  a  village — stores  and  private 
dwellings.  We  stopped  a  while,  and  a  glance  at  the  interior 
of  the  trading-establishments  satisfied  me  that  the  merchants 
knew  how  to  cater  to  the  tastes  of  their  customers.  All  the 
gaudiest  colors  known  in  the  world  of  calico  flash  upon  the 
eye,  and  are  displayed  in  the  most  tempting  form. 

"  A  mile  or  two  more  brought  us  to  New  1  lope  Academy, 
where  we  proposed  to  rest  a  day  or  two  to  examine  the  school 
and  to  vi>it  the  school  at  Fort  Coffee,  five  miles  distant. 
The  next  day  the  Agent  of  the  Genera]  Government  had  ap- 
pointed to  pa)-  over  the  annuity  to  the  Nation.  The  Indians 
were  assembled  in  crowds.  Such  a  company  of  men,  squaws t 
papooses,  ponies,  I  never  saw  before,  and  likely  never  shall 
see  again.  There  was  the  Christian  Indian  dressed  like  the 
white  man  ;  there  too  was  the  half-civilized,  an  odd  combina- 
tion of  the  apparel  of  the  two  races,  and  here  was  the  genu- 
ine man  of  the  woods,  strutting  in  the  costume  of  his  ances- 
tors— hunting-shirt,  buckskin  leggings,  moccasins,  and  all. 
I  saw  one  magnificent-looking  fellow  ;  he  had  the  step  of  a 
chief,  the  air  of  a  king  ;  and  he  moved  about  as  if  he  felt 
himself  to  be  the  embodiment  of  every  thing  which  had 
been  the  glory  of  an  Indian.  Lovick's  eyes  opened  wide 
upon  the  motley  group,  and  he  was  highly  gratified  to  see 
a  few  Indians,  such  as  he  had  read  of,  in  the  habiliments  of  a 


1855-]  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  237 

warrior — face  painted,  scalp-lock  on  the  crown  of  the  head, 
bow  and  arrows  swung  upon  the  back. 

"  At  noon  we  had  preaching.  As  very  many  could  speak 
English,  by  request  I  preached  without  an  interpreter. 
During  the  sermon  I  observed  a  very  old  man  who  seemed 
deeply  interested  ;  he  wept  much.  When  the  services  had 
ended  and  I  had  come  down  from  the  little  platform,  he 
approached  me,  and,  seizing  my  hand,  began  in  Indian  and 
broken  English  to  tell  me  how  happy  he  was.  About  all  I 
could  understand  was,  'Me  glad;  me  glad  heap- — me  glad 
]ieap;  '  and  this  was  said  with  streaming  eyes,  beaming  face, 
and  earnest  gesture.  The  thought  that  God  had  made  me  an 
instrument  of  good  to  this  old  pilgrim  was  a  cordial  to  my 
heart.  I  hope  to  meet  Tobleechubbee  in  heaven.  As  I  was 
about  mounting  my  horse,  another,  a  young  man,  came  to 
bid  me  'good- by,'  and  said  something  to  me  in  his  own 
language.  I  knew  not  what  to  say  to  him.  Dickson  Lewis, 
who  was  standing  near,  said  to  me,  '  He  says  he  is  sorry  he 
will  never  see  you  any  more.'  Pointing  to  heaven — '  Tell 
him,'  said  I,  'we  shall  meet  up  there.'  He  burst  into  tears, 
wrung  my  hand  and  went  his  way.  May  we  renew  our  ac- 
quaintance in  a  better  world  ! 

"  The  school  at  New  Hope  is  for  girls  ;  the  one  at  Fort 
Coffee  for  boys.  I  visited  both,  and  was  greatly  interested 
in  each  establishment.  This  is  not  the  place  for  an  argument 
on  the  unity  of  the  human  race,  but  I  am  sure  we  all  descended 
from  a  commoji  stock.  Kittens  do  not  more  certainly  play  the 
same  antics  through  all  their  generations,  than  do  boys  and 
girls — no  matter  what  their  complexion — when  gathered  in 
numbers  about  a  school-house.  There  are  the  same  sorts  of 
glee,  fun,  and  mischief,  and  identical  modes  of  manifestation, 
at  the  table,  in  the  yard,  about  the  school  room.  I  went  in 
and  heard  the  classes  in  spelling,  reading,  grammar,  arithme- 
tic, and  geography  ;  gave  them  a  little  speech,  had  prayer, 
and  bade  them  farewell.  These  schools,  well  managed,  will 
do  wonders  for  this  people  in  the  progress  of  time,  We  must 
wait,  and  pray,  and  hope. 


238  Life  and  Tunes  of  George  F.  Pierce.  [<  iw.  x. 

"  Now  farewell  to  the  Indians.  They  interested  me  as  an 
American  citizen  and  as  a  Christian  minister.  May  this  un- 
pretending record  of  my  visit  to  them  interest  the  Church  in 
their  welfare,  stir  up  the  preachers  to  go  and  work  among 
them,  and  multiply  the  income  of  the  Missionary  treasury, 
that  the  Hoard  of  Managers  may  devise  liberal  things  fortheir 
enlightenment  and  salvation  ! 

"  Once  more  upon  the  road.  O,  the  dry  weather  !  The 
highway  is  a  bed  of  powder,  so  fine  that  a  touch  lifts  it  in 
clouds.  I  thought  of  a  remark  a  distinguished  Georgian  once 
made  to  me  in  Augusta.  It  was  a  very  dry  season — the  dust 
was  terrible — everybody  was  complaining  ;  he  said  to  me, 
•  I  wonder  that  when  Moses  was  contending  with  Pharaoh,  he 
did  not  try  him  with  dust.     If  Ire  had  given  him  such  a  spell 

this,  I  think  he  would  have  'let  them  go!'  However 
this  might  have  been,  it  is  certain  that  I  never  spent  such  a 
day  as  the  one  from  the  Nation  to  Van  liuren,  Arkansas. 
The  next  day  the  blessed  rain  came  down,  and  the  animal 
world  breathed  freely  once  more. 

'•  I  came  to  this  place  to  fill  an  appointment  on  Sabbath 
— preaching  morning  and  night — and  on  Monday  evening 
delivered  a\\  address  for  the  benefit  of  the  Crawford  Institute, 
an  institution  of  the  Arkansas  Conference.  \'au  Buren  is  a 
flourishing  little  town  on  the  bank  of  the  Arkansas  River.  It 
is  distant  five  miles  from  Fort  Smith,  and,  since  that  has  been 
abandoned  as  a  military  post,  has  materially  interfered  with 
its  business  and  prosperity.  We  crossed  and  re-crossed  the 
Arkansas  River  in  flats  and  by  fording,  travelled  along  its  banks, 
and  I  am  1  that  it  will  never  be  navigable  any  more  to 

any  great  distance,  except  in  a  freshet.  It  is  a  great  misfortune 
to  the  State  ;  for  without  a  marvellous  change,  it  will  be  long 
years  before  there  is  any  great  line  of  railroads  in  that  region. 

u  On  Tuesday,  the  23d  of  October,  we  reached  Fort  Smith, 
and  found  lodgings  at  Mr.  Griffith's.  To  him  and  his  kind 
wife  and  mother  in-law  I  am  indebted  for  as  much  of  comfort 
as  I  ever  found  anywhere  away  from  my  own  loved  home. 
May  God  reward  their  kindness  a  hundredfold. 


1855.]  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  239 

"  In  the  morning  of  Wednesday,  I  opened  Conference  in 
the  usual  way.  I  knew  but  one  or  two  of  the  brethren,  and 
of  course  formed  to-day  several  new  acquaintances.  This 
Conference  occupies  a  considerable  territory,  but  is  very  feeble 
in  the  number  of  its  workmen.  They  need  help.  If  the 
'  Iron  Wheel '  had  half  the  power  imputed  to  it,  it  ought  to 
roll  a  score  of  men  right  off  to  Arkansas.  And  if  the  minis- 
try, travelling  and  local,  were  awake  to  their  solemn  respon- 
sibilities, they  would  offer  to  go.  On  this  topic,  before  I 
finish,  I  will  give  a  separate  and  urgent  letter. 

"  We  had  a  brief,  smooth,  pleasant  session  ;  could  have 
wound  up  on  Saturday  night,  but  did  not,  lest  somebody 
might  be  tempted  to  break  the  Sabbath  by  starting  for  home. 
On  Friday  night  we  held  our  Missionary  Anniversary.  The 
preachers  had  done  but  little  for  this  great  interest,  for  the 
Tract  cause,  or  the  superannuated,  widows  and  orphans,  and 
of  course  got  but  little  themselves.  Drought — hard  times — 
scarcity  of  money — these  were  the  apologies.  But  I  protest 
against  the  policy  common  in  all  the  Conferences  of  turning 
out  these  great  enterprises  to  starve  by  sheer  neglect,  because 
everybody  is  not  growing  rich  as  fast  as  he  desires.  Money 
can  always  be  got  for  a  good  cause  by  an  honest,  earnest 
effort.  Our  preachers  must  learn  to  try  ;  and  if  there  must 
be  a  failure,  let  the  responsibility  rest  on  the  people,  where 
it  properly  belongs.  But  I  am  digressing.  On  this  night 
we' did  far  better  than  anybody  except  myself  thought  to  be 
possible  under  the  pressure  of  the  times.  One  old  brother 
went  out,  as  he  told  me  next  day,  expecting  to  give,  as  usual, 
fifty  cents ;  '  but '  said  he,  '  you  made  me  feel  so  mean  about 
it,  that  I  actually  borrowed  twenty  dollars  before  the  meeting 
was  over,  to  bring  myself  somewhere  near  my  duty.'  He 
gave  twenty-five  dollars  before  the  meeting  was  ended.  He 
said  he  felt  better  and  meant  to  do  better. 

"  The  services  of  the  Sabbath  were  delightful.  At  night 
we  had  many  mourners,  and  several  conversions  and  some 
additions  to  the  Church.  Next  morning  we  met  at  sunrise 
to  wind  up,  read  out  the  appointments,  and  dispersed  every 


240  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  [Ciiap.  x. 

man  to  his  work,  save  one  or  two  who  remained  to  continue 
the  work  so  auspiciously  begun  on  the  Sabbath. 

"  Our  journey  now  lies  between  Van  Buren  and  El  Dorado, 
Arkansas.  Breakfast  over,  we  prepared  for  the  long  travel. 
About  ten  o'clock  P.M.  we  bade  our  kind  friends  adieu  ;  and 
with  Brother  Harris,  a  preacher  of  the  Arkansas  Conference, 
for  a  travelling  companion,  we  left  for  El  Dorado.  The 
people  who  were  familiar  with  the  route  assured  me  that  I 
could  not  reach  the  next  Conference  in  time.  I  was  told  the 
way  was  lonely,  rough,  mountainous,  almost  impassable  in 
many  places.  With  such  reports,  the  idea  of  trouble  three 
hundred  miles  long  was  not  very  refreshing.  But  I  have 
learned  two  simple  but  important  lessons  in  my  life:  first, 
no  man  knows  what  he  can  accomplish  till  he  tries  ;  second, 
things  are  rarely  or  never  as  bad  as  they  are  represented. 
Accordingly,  we  made  the  trip  and  had  a  day  to  spare.  The 
road  was  bad  enough,  but  I  have  seen  worse.  But  I  must 
not  anticipate. 

"  The  first  night  we  reached  a  house  on  the  road-side,  and 
found  the  family  were  emigrants  from  Georgia.  The  man  of 
the  house  was  absent  ;  the  lady  was  glad  to  see  one  who 
knew  the  acquaintances  of  her  youth.  She  told  me  they  had 
moved  several  times,  but  had  never  found  any  country  equal 
to  the  one  the)-  had  left.  By  some  means  the  family  found 
out  I  was  a  preacher.  When  supper  was  announced,  wc  all 
took  our  seats  around  the  table,  and  there  we  sat — silent. 
I  did  not  know  their  habit,  and  did  not  like  to  volunteer  to 
ask  a  blessing,  and  concluded  that,  if  they  wished  it,  they 
would  ask  me.  By-and-by,  a  youth  who  seemed,  in  the  ab- 
sence of  his  father,  to  have  the  management  of  the  affairs,  said 
to  me,  '  Make  <i  beginning %  sir.'  Here  was  a  dilemma. 
What  docs  he  mean  ?  '  Help  yourself,'  or  '  Say  grace  ?  ' 
The  only  clue  to  solve  the  mystery,  was  the  gravity  of  his 
face.  So,  making  his  looks  interpret  his  words,  I  proceeded 
to  ask  a  blessing.  Next  morning  I  found  that  I  had  under- 
stood him  correctly. 

"  We  started  early  to-day,  resolved  to  make  a  long  travel. 


1855.]  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  241 

The  best-concerted  schemes,  however,  are  vain.  We  were 
passing  through  a  circuit  which  Brother  Harris  had  travelled 
a  year  or  two  before,  and,  contrary  to  my  custom-,  he  pre- 
vailed on  me  to  stop  for  dinner,  and  thus  we  lost  two  hours 
which  we  were  compelled  to  make  up  on  the  following  day. 
About  sundown  we  reached  another  of  his  stopping-places, 
and  although  eight  miles  from  the  stand  we  ought  to  have 
made,  we  concluded  to  tarry.  By  some  curious  telegraphic 
operation,  the  news  spread  through  the  country  around,  that 
the  Bishop  was  about.  By  eight  o'clock  a  considerable  com- 
pany had  collected.  I  supposed  they  had  come  to  see  their 
old  friend  and  preacher,  Brother  Harris.  It  was  a  soft, 
balmy  night,  and  not  feeling  inclined  for  conversation,  I 
withdrew,  and  was  walking  up  and  down  a  long  piazza,  seek- 
ing rest  for  my  cramped  limbs,  and  was  just  thinking  of  pro- 
posing prayer  and  retirement,  when  a  brother  came  to  me 
and  inquired  if  I  would  not  give  them  a  sermon.  '  What  ! 
this  time  of  the  night  !  Why,  it  is  near  nine  o'clock,  now  !  ' 
'  Well,  I  know,'  said  he,  '  that  it  is  an  unseasonable  hour, 
but  we  have  but  little  preaching  in  this  region — we  have 
never  heard  a  bishop,  and  the  people  have  come  on  purpose  ; 
and  they  will  be  greatly  disappointed  if  you  do  not  talk  a 
little  for  them.'  '  Very  well,  get  them  all  together,  and  I 
will  try.'  So,  planks  were  brought  in  and  fixed  on  chairs, 
and  there,  late  at  night,  among  the  hills  and  woods,  in  that 
lone  widow's  house,  to  a  handful  of  people,  I  made  an  effort 
to  tell  them  the  way  to  the  kingdom. 

"  In  the  morning  Brother  Harris  had  the  mumps  badly  ;  it 
was  raining  a  little  and  threatening  a  good  deal,  and  it  was 
thought  imprudent  for  him  to  go  on.  My  duties  would  not 
allow  me  to  lie  over,  and,  as  he  was  among  friends,  we  bade 
him  farewell.  This  was  the  day  among  the  mountains  when, 
according  to  prediction,  we  were  to  break  down,  and  get  no 
farther  without  trouble  upon  trouble.  And  verily  it  was  the 
loneliest,  roughest  road  in  some  respects  I  ever  saw.  For 
twenty  miles,  I  doubt  if  the  wheels  made  one  entire  revolu- 
tion on  the  ground.  Rocks — rocks — rocks,  of  all  sorts  and 
16 


242  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  [Chap,  v 

sizes  ;  mountain  after  mountain  crossed  our  path,  and  some- 
times the  descent  was  so  steep  that  I  had  to  get  down  and 
swing  on  to  the  rack  to  keep  the  buggy  from  so  running 
over  the  horses  as  to  make  them  unmanageable.  We  were 
obliged  to  go  thirty-five  miles  to  find  a  house  to  lodge  in, 
and  were  told  it  was  a  miserable  place  at  that :  by  going 
eight  miles  on  we  would  reach  Mount  Ida,  and  fare  better. 
A  little  before  sunset  we  arrived  at  the  first  stand,  on  the 
banks  of  the  Wachita,  and  a  slight  inspection  satisfied  me 
that  no  rest  could  be  found  there.  So  I  determined  to  risk 
a  night  among  the  mountains,  or  reach  Mount  Idea — as  the 
people  called  it.  Just  after  fording  the  river  we  met  three 
men,  travellers,  and  all,  as  the  phrase  is,  in  liquor.  As  we 
passed,  one  of  them  sang  out,  '  Jordan  is  a  hard  road  to 
travel,  a'nt'  it,  Mister?'  Knowing  that  they  would  stop  at 
the  house  on  the  other  side  of  the  river,  I  rejoiced  that  I  had 
gone  on,  and  next  morning  had  additional  evidence,  as  will 
appear,  that  I  acted  wisely  in  so  doing.  A  dark,  cloudy 
night  settled  down  upon  us,  full  five  miles  from  the  desired 
haven.  We  began  to  think  seriously  of  camping,  but  having 
nothing  to  feed  with,  mercy  to  our  tired  horses  drove  us  on. 
At  last  a  glimmering  light  appeared — it  was  moving  ;  the 
rattling  wheels  arrested  the  attention  of  the  torch-bearer,  and 
on  coming  up  we  inquired  for  the  town  of  Mount  Ida,  and 
received  the  welcome  answer,  '  This  is  the  place.'  With 
Judge  Ball,  the  chief  man  of  the  town,  we  found  comfortable 
entertainment.  The  country  through  which  we  had  passed 
was  high,  rocky,  and  poor,  the  water  clear  as  crystal,  and  yet 
chill  and  fever  rages.  It  is  an  annual  visitor — the  people 
never  escape.  The  population  is  thin,  and  live  mostly  by 
hunting.  The  sale  of  peltry  furnishes  them  with  money 
enough  to  buy  sugar,  coffee,  and  salt,  and,  I  guess  I  might 
add,  liquor.  Bear,  deer,  and  wild  turkey  abound,  and  a  hun- 
ter's life  is  the  very  highest  style  of  living. 

"  Before  day  in  the  morning,  a  woman  came  at  half-speed 
into  the  little  village,  and  roused  nearly  all  the  dwellers 
therein  with  her  sad  account  of  wrong  and  outrage.     The 


1855-]  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  243 

drunken  travellers  we  met  the  evening  before  had  continued 
their  potations  after  stopping  for  the  night,  and  a  general 
fight  between  them  and  the  landlord  and  his  family,  ensued. 
According  to  her  own  account,  she  fought  like  a  tigress,  but 
at  last  fled  to  save  her  life.  She  said  they  fired  at  her  twice 
as  she  ran  from  the  house  to  the  lot.  Her  story  produced 
some  excitement,  yet  but  little  sympathy  was  felt  for  her 
misfortunes.  Her  own  reputation  for  meekness  and  long- 
suffering  was  not  well-established.  However,  with  a  warrant, 
an  officer  of  justice,  and  a  few  of  that  class  who  are  always 
attracted  by  such  scenes,  she  was  about  returning  to  the 
scene  of  strife  when  we  left,  congratulating  ourselves  that  by 
coming  on  last  night  we  escaped  a  household  storm. 

"  To-day  it  was  a  great  relief  to  us  and  our  hard-pressed 
steeds  to  find  a  vast  improvement  in  the  road.  The  geolo- 
gist and  mineralogist  would  find  much  to  entertain  them  in 
this  region.  On  reaching  Caddo  Gap,  a  place  somewhat  fa- 
mous in  this  part  of  Arkansas  as  having  the  best  mill  and 
making  the  best  flour  in  all  that  country,  we  paused  to  ad- 
mire and  to  speculate.  Apparently,  a  mountain  ridge  once 
crossed  this  most  beautiful  river,  but  in  some  convulsion  of 
nature,  or  by  the  pressure  of  the  accumulated  waters,  "it  has 
been  rent  asunder ;  and  now,  between  the  precipitous  cliffs 
there  rushes  a  crystal  flood,  the  motive-power  of  the  mills 
below.  Fine  fish  abound,  and  may  be  seen  in  the  bright 
waters  at  the  depth  of  fifteen  or  twenty  feet.  Finding  a  place 
of  some  reputation  on  the  wayside,  we  took  up  early  in  the 
afternoon. 

"The  next  morning  the  rain  was  descending  in  torrents, 
and  a  very  bad  road  was  made  a  great  deal  worse,  so  that 
after  hard  toiling  we  made  but  slow  progress.  The  day's 
journey,  however,  with  all  its  discomforts,  being  ended,  we 
found  pleasant  entertainment  with  a  Mr.  Peek,  near  Arka- 
delphia.  This  region  presents  many  attractions  to  those 
disposed  to  settle  in  the  West.  The  soil  is  not  very  rich, 
but  is  productive  and  easy  to  cultivate.  An  abundance 
of  timber,  good  water  and  plenty  of  it,  nearness  to  market 


244  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  tCuAI>  x- 

and  fair  health  for  a  new  country,  make  it  desirable  for  emi- 
grants. Those  who  move  from  the  older  States  prefer  the 
richest  lands,  despite  the  swamp,  mud,  and  fever.  A  bag  of 
cotton  to  the  acre  is  an  offset  to  all  objections.  '  Cotton  is 
Icing, '  not  only  in  the  world  of  commerce,  but  it  controls 
plantation  economy,  fixes  the  bounds  of  our  habitations,  and 
compensates  by  promise  for  a  life  of  inconvenience,  labor, 
and  hardships. 

"  Hut  we  must  pursue  our  journey,  This  day's  ride  I 
count  as  the  dreariest,  loneliest  of  my  life.  An  old,  forsaken, 
unworked  road,  narrow,  crooked,  abounding  in  roots,  rocks, 
and  gullies,  running  through  a  forest  almost  without  an  in- 
habitant— one  wonders  at  last  where  he  is,  and  whither  he  is 
going.     Hut   there   is  no  one  of  whom   to  inquire,  and  echo 

self  is  mute  in  these  solitary  wilds.  We  had  been  warned 
by  our  host  of  the  previous  night  of  a  certain  creek  (with  a 
French  name  that  I  have  forgotten),  its  bottom  mud,  its  bay- 
ous without  a  bottom,  and  its  bridge  without  railing  or  plank, 
it^  rotten  timbers  and  broken  rails  for  flooring.  Toward 
1  we  reached  it  ;  and  verily,  in  a  rainy  time,  it  takes  a 
bold  mail  to  work  hi  ,h  its  difficulties.     Hefore 

we  entered  the  swamp,  fortunately,  we  saw  by  the  wheel- 
tracks  t:.  one  had  gone  before  us,  or  we  must  have 
our  route.  Presently  we  came  to  a  lagoon  which 
ha  1  been  c  tusewayed,  but  the  logs  had  been  washed  up,  and 
were  standing  rather  than  Lying,  so  that  a  passage  in  that 
direction  was  impossible.  We  could  see  where  our  forerun- 
ner had  gone  in,  but  could  not  see  where  he  went  out. 
1  .  ing  in  was  easy,  but  where  to  come  out  was  a  question  of 
•nice.  I  dismounted  and  pressed  through  the 
undergrowth  of  cane  till  I  found  a  log  on  which  I  could 
cross,  ami  then,  inspecting  the  banks,  found  a  place  where  I 
thought  an  experiment  might  be  made,  perhaps.  Lovick 
concluded  he  could  drive  over,  and  seemed  rather  anxious  to 
try  ;  and  in  he  went,  and  down  went  horses,  buggy,  and  all. 
The  passage  was  short  ;  a  plunge  or  two  brought  the  horses 
to  a  little  firmer  footing  ;  and  so  we  were  once  more,  not  on 


1855.]  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pieyce.  245 

dry  land  exactly,  but  out  of  the  water.  That  is  an  ugly 
place,  try  it  who  will.  The  bridge  had  been  repaired,  and 
was  passable,  but  in  a  mile  or  two  we  had  to  cross  the  stream 
again,  and  this  time  to  ford.  We  prepared  for  swimming, 
but  escaped  by  a  few  inches.  Our  trunk  was  submerged, 
and  ourselves  pretty  well  moistened. 

"  According  to  report,  the  worst  was  yet  to  come.  The 
Little  Missouri  River  was  to  be  passed,  and  its  bottom  was 
four  miles  wide.  My  only  apprehension  was  that  night  would 
overtake  us,  amid  its  mud  and  gloom.  The  mighty  trees 
and  the  dense  canebrake  shut  out  the  light  of  day  long  before 
the  sun  goes  down.  Wild  beasts  abound  in  these  jungles, 
and  the  idea  that  a  panther  may  spring  upon  you  from  some 
overhanging  bough  is  not  very  composing.  We  saw  noth- 
ing, however,  but  one  bear,  who  seemed  to  be  content  with 
his  swamp  fare.  Dark  night  overtook  us  before  we  found  a 
lodge  in  this  wilderness. 

"  Some  three  miles  from  the  river,  after  one  or  two  un- 
successful efforts  to  get  in,  we  prevailed  with  a  good  lady  to 
give  us  shelter  from  the  rain.  The  family  was  large,  and  the 
house  had  but  one  room  for  us  all.  This  is  common  in  new 
countries,  and  I  have  seen  the  like  in  the  old.  Here  we  'saw 
a  scene — a  show  which  amused  Lovick  no  little.  As  it  illus- 
trates the  old  saying,  '  Necessity  is  the  mother  of  invention,' 
while  it  is  no  mean  specimen  of  woman's  wit,  I  will  describe 
it.  The  household  consisted  of  the  elder  lady,  her  daughter- 
in-law,  and  some  seven  or  eight  children  of  various  ages  from 
sixteen  to  two.  The  husband  of  the  first  and  the  son-in-law 
had  gone  to  market  and  were  detained  by  the  rain.  At 
bedtime  the  ladies  retired  to  the  kitchen  to  give  us  an  op- 
portunity of  undressing  without  observation.  When  they 
supposed  we  were  asleep,  they  came  in.  Long  before  day 
the  old  lady  arose,  made  a  fire,  and  went  out.  I  supposed 
the  other  would  do  likewise,  but  soon  found  from  her  breath- 
ing that  she  was  fast  asleep.  I  roused  Lovick,  and  we 
availed  ourselves  of  the  moment  to  rise  and  dress.  This  done, 
we  sat  by  the  fire.     When  day  had  fully  come,  we  heard  a 


240  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  [Chat,  x. 

noise  behind,  and  on  turning  to  look,  the  other  lady  had  risen, 
and  was  in  the  middle  of  the  bed,  a  large  quilt  over  her  head, 
and  under  its  concealment  she  was  putting  on  her  clothes  ; 
and  when  she  came  out,  her  toilet  was  complete,  save  that 
her  hair  needed  combing.  Who  but  a  woman  would  have 
thought  of  such  a  screen  ?  She  was  as  perfectly  hidden  as  to 
her  person  as  if  she  had  been  within  brick  walls.  Genuine 
modest}-,  native  womanly  delicacy,  can  always  protect  them- 
selves ;  and  in  this  rude  cabin,  in  these  wild  woods,  the  sen- 
timent was  as  real  in  that  woman's  heart  as  in  her  sisters  of 
more  favored  fortunes.  1  record  the  little  incident,  not  by 
way  of  ridicule,  but  as  an  item  of  life  in  a  new  country  ;  a 
proof  of  female  invention,  and  a  suggestive  exponent  of  the 
general  truth,  that  there  are  more  ways  than  one  of  doing  a 
thing. 

"  Rather  than  remain  and  incommode  this  kind  family,  we 
concluded,  Sabbath  as  it  was,  to  go  on  to  Camden,  hoping 
to  reach  it  by  the  hour  of  morning  service.  In  this  we  failed 
by  .in  hour.  Notice,  however,  was  given,  and  I  preached  at 
and  met  with  several  old  acquaintances.  On  the  fol- 
lowing day  several  of  the  preachers  on  the  way  to  Conference 
pas-  ,.  and  a  crowd  of  us  got  together  at  night  where 

I  had  an  appointment  to  preach.  Several  of  us  tarried  with 
Brother  Annis,  himself  a  preacher,  and  member  of  the  Con- 
ference, and  in  the  morning  quite  a  cavalcade  took  up  the 
line  »>f  march  for  El  Dorado. 

"  On  my  arrival,  the  preachers  were  quite  surprised  to  see 
me,  as,  knowing  the  route,  they  did  not  think  it  possible  for 
me  to  get  there  in  time.  'I'll  try'  can  do  wonders,  and  of 
course  an  earnest,  persevering  effort  can  accomplish  what  is 
at  all  practicable.  Brother  Radcliffe,  the  Presiding  Elder,  met 
me  on  the  Square — not  the  Masonic,  but  the  town  Square — 
and  took  me  down  to  Colonel  Tatom's,  at  whose  house  I 
found  a  welcome  and  a  home. 

"The  Wachita  Conference  opened  on  Wednesday  morning, 
7th  of  November.  The  preachers  were  very  generally  pres- 
ent.    The  reports  of  our  Church  interests  within  their  bounds 


1855.]  ufe  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  247 

were  for  the  most  part  encouraging,  except  in  relation  to 
what  are  now  called  '  the  finances.'  Poorly  paid  themselves? 
the  preachers  brought  up  very  little  missionary  money,  and 
hardly  any  Conference  collections.  The  apology  for  this  de- 
ficiency was  low  rivers  and  hard  times.  I  have  no  doubt  the 
brethren  honestly  believed  that  nothing  could  be  got  by  ask- 
ing, and,  with  sad  hearts  and  yet  with  good  consciences,  they 
cast  anchor  and  longed  for  better  days.  But  they  were  mis- 
taken. A  good  cause  and  an  earnest  pleader  can  always 
raise  money.  Nor  do  '  the  times '  make  much  difference. 
When  money  is  scarce,  almost  every  man  feels  it  is  not  worth 
while  to  be  coveteous  and  to  hoard,  and  he  will  give  some  of 
the  little  he  has.  When  everything  is  flush  and  promising, 
men  have  larger  ideas,  new  plans,  and  endless  ways  of  invest- 
ing, and  they  feel  very  reluctant  to  give  at  all.  At  any  rate, 
it  is  the  duty  of  the  preachers  everywhere  to  bring  the  noble 
enterprises  of  the  Church  before  the  people,  and  by  special 
effort,  argument,  and  appeal,  invoke  their  aid.  Let  all  every- 
where do  their  duty,  and  we  shall  hear  no  more  of  an  empty 
Missionary  treasury  ;  nor  will  the  superannuated  preachers, 
the  widows  and  orphans,  any  longer  get  scorpions  for  fish,  or 
stones  for  bread. 

"These  views  were  strikingly  illustrated  during  the  Con- 
ference. Dr.  Hamilton,  the  Secretary  of  the  Tract  Society, 
came  over,  and  proposed  to  hold  a  Tract  meeting  on  Friday 
night.  It  was  strongly  opposed,  on  the  ground  that  it  would 
forestall  and  defeat  the  anniversary  of  the  Missionary  Society 
on  the  next  evening.  I  took  sides  with  the  Doctor  and  de- 
clined to  preach,  to  give  him  a  chance.  The  meeting  was 
appointed  in  the  face  of  remonstrance  and  evil  prediction. 
Dr.  Hamilton  opened  with  such  a  speech  as  nobody  but  him- 
self makes — strong,  religious,  eloquent.  The  effect  was  fine. 
I  followed,  and  took  up  the  collection — a  little  over  four  hun- 
dred dollars.  '  There  now,'  said  a  good  brother  to  me, 
'  you  have  ruined  everything.'  '  You  did  not  think  there 
was  that  much  money  in  Union  County,  did  you  ?'  '  No,  I 
did  not ;  but  you  have  got  it  all,  and  to-morrow  night  we 


248  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  [CnAr.  x. 

shall  get  nothing.'  '  Hold  still ;  do  not  croak.  Let  Hamil- 
ton and  me  speak,  for  you  and  the  rest  are  afraid  of  the  peo- 
ple, and  we  will  double  the  amount.'  And  we  did.  Never 
did  I  see  people  give  more  freely  and  cheerfully  ;  proving 
that  they  had  both  the  heart  and  the  means  to  do  liberal 
things.  Give  the  people  light,  appeal  to  conscience,  to  their 
liberal  feelings,  and  the)'  will  do  well  and  grow  better. 

"  The  whole  session  w.is  a  pleasant  one  ;  a  gracious  influ- 
ence attended  our  private  meetings  ami  public  exercises- 
The  people  were  unwearied  in  their  kindness,  and  when  the 
hour  of  adjournment  came,  separation  was  a  tax  upon  the 
feelings  of  all.  El  Dorado  is  a  beautiful  village — society 
agreeable,  the  churches  in  peace,  the  surrounding  country 
pleasant  to  the  eye,  and  the  soil  amply  repays  cultivation. 
If  I  were  a  farmer,  seeking  a  home  in  a  new  country,  I 
should  feel  strongly  drawn  toward  this  section  of  Arkan 
In  my  judgment  this  State  is  greatly  underrated  in  the  East. 
The  people,  I  grant,  need  rousing  up  to  a  proper  apprecia- 
tion of  their  advantages.  They  lack  enterprise,  public  spirit. 
Hut  there  are  the  elements  and  resources  of  a  great  State, 
and  flourishing  population  might  congregate  within 
her  borders,  and  when  her  lands  are  occupied,  and  her  lead- 
ing men  in  Church  and  State  do  their  duty  in  enlightening 
and  directing  the  people,  her  citizens  need  never  to  be 
ashamed,  when  they  travel  abroad,  to  tell  where  they  come 
from.  As  compared  with  her  sisters  in  the  Confederacy,  I 
predict  for  Arkansas  a  glorious  development  and  a  brilliant 
future.  The  raw  material  abounds  ;  let  the  spinners  and 
weavers  go  to  work  and  vindicate  the  prophecy. 

"  On  coming  through  Camden  I  had  promised,  if  the 
Conference  adjourned  in  time  to  allow  it,  to  return  and  make 
a  speech  in  behalf  of  a  female  college  to  be  located  at  that 
place.  Accordingly,  after  the  closing  services  on  Monday,  1 
made  haste  to  dine  and  to  take  backward  steps  for  forty 
miles,  to  serve  what  I  regard  an  important  Church  interest. 

"  Brother  BuStin,  an  old  Georgia  man,  had  bound  me  by 
promise  to  stay  at  his  house  on  Monday  night,  and  to  preach 


1855.]  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  249 

at  the  church  near  by.  I  was  weary  with  business  and  labor, 
and  needed  a  night's  repose  for  the  refreshment  of  mind  and 
body.  But  the  people  seemed  anxious  to  hear  the  word,  and, 
despite  fatigue,  I  mounted  a  horse  and  rode  to  the  church, 
and  found,  in  the  effort  to  preach,  a  special  blessing.  In  a 
life  of  change  and  toil,  I  have  often  proved  that  when  I  taxed 
myself,  put  myself  to  trouble  to  serve  God  and  do  good,  then 
I  realized  the  deepest,  most  enduring  consolations.  That 
night's  service  profited  me — whether  others  were  helped  I 
know  not.     The  DAY  will  declare  it. 

"  Many  of  the  preachers  accompanied  me  to  Camden  ; 
and  after  tea  I  found  a  large  congregation  assembled  in  the 
church  to  hear  an  argument  for  the  college.  As  nothing  had 
been  done  in  this  region  for  denominational  education,  and  as 
very  few  believed  that  anything  could  be  done,  I  belabored 
my  theme,  and  pressed  the  people  to  instant  action,  for  two 
hours  or  more.  We  raised  about  seven  thousand  dollars,  I 
believe  ;  and  when  I  left,  next  morning  some  active  friends 
were  trying  to  increase  the  amount.  They  thought  they  could 
carry  the  subscription  up  to  twelve  thousand  in  the  town  and 
country.  I  hope  they  may  succeed.  Methodism  cannot  do 
her  duty  in  this  great  country  without  seeking  to  promote 
and  sanctify  education. 

"  On  Wednesday,  November  14th,  we  went  home  with 
Brother  Moores,  one  of  the  presiding  elders  of  the  Conference, 
and  the  next  day  set  out  direct  for  Texas.  Pine  woods,  bad 
road,  and  solitariness,  made  this  a  long,  tedious  day.  We 
had  been  directed  to  stop  at  a  certain  house  as  the  only 
place  where  lodging  could  be  got  within  any  reasonable  dis- 
tance. Late  in  the  afternoon,  in  the  midst  of  a  terrible 
swamp,  we  met  a  traveller  on  horseback.      '  How  far  is  it,' 

said  I,    '  to  Mr.  's  ?  '      '  About  three  miles.'     After  we 

had  passed,  he  turned  in  his  saddle  and  called  to  me  :  '  Do 
you  think  of  staying  there  to-night  ?  '  '  Yes,  sir.'  '  Well,  I 
stopped  there  once,  and  never  wish  to  do  it  again.  There  is 
a  house  just  this  side,  a  new  settlement.  I  know  not  who 
lives  there,  but  I  would  advise  you  to  get  in  there  if  you  can  ; 


230  Life  and  Times,  of  George  F.  Pierce.  [Ohaf.  x 

I  know  you  cannot  be  worsted.'  'Thank  you,  sir,  I'll  try 
the  new  place.' 

"  When  we  reached  it,  concluding  to  reconnoitre  a  little,  I 
asked  for  a  drink  of  water.  A  servant-woman  brought  me 
somcin  a  nice  clean  cocoa-nut.  '  Well,'  said  I,  '  this  is  one 
good  sign.' 

"  Pardon  a  little  digression.  I  have  noticed  many  things 
in  travelling,  and  some  indications,  small  in  themselves,  de- 
cide me  very  often  in  choosing  a  resting-place.  The  house 
may  be  very  humble  ;  but  if  the  yard  is  clean,  well  swept, 
rose-bushes  and  shrubbery  about,  a  vine  over  the  door,  a 
flower-pot  on  the  window-sill,  get  down  and  walk  in,  if  they 
let  you,  and  they  generally  will  ;  you  may  be  sure  that 
everything  will  be  neat  and  clean.  But  a  white  house  on  the 
roadside,  with  every  thing  around  out  of  fix,  avoid  as  you 
would  the  small-pox.  No  comfort  there — dirt,  dirt — on  the 
floor,   in   the   bed.   the   table-cloth,   the   butter,    the    biscuit — 

everywhere  and  everything, 

"  '  The  goodman  of  the  house'  was  out  on  his  farm,  and 

hk  wife  was  reluctant  to  take  US  in  ;   she  said  they   were  '  not 

1  ;   had  just  settled  there.'      I  told  her  I  had  heard  of  the 

place  below,  and  did  not  like  to  go  there.     She  laughed  and 

said,  '  People  ilo  complain  of  the  fare   down   there  ;   but   I  do 

'.ike  to  take  anybody's  money  without  giving  them  the 
worth  of  it.'  I  liked  that  sentiment,  and  I  put  it  alongside  of 
that  clean  gourd,  and  renewed  my  applications.  At  last  she 
said  we  might  stay;  but,  '  You  must  wait  on  yourselves; 
yonder  is  the  horse-lot,  and  there  is  the  corn  and  fodder; 
and  when  you  get  through,  take  your  trunk  into  that  cabin 
out  there — that  is  the  only  chance.'  Very  well,  the  work  is 
done,  and  now  for  the  cabin.  As  we  stepped  in,  Lovick  said, 
'  Father,  we  have  hit  it  exactly.'  The  Shunamite  did  no 
better  for  the  prophet.  Clean  floor,  clean  bed,  white  tow- 
el-, a  bucket  of  water,  shining  tin  pan,  everything  in  order; 
not  fine,  but  free  from  dirt,  white  and  clean.  '  Clean- 
liness is  next  to  godliness,'  said  Mr.  Wesley.  I  believe  it. 
To  live  in  filth  is  a  sin.     A  pure  thought  in  some  houses 


1*55.]  life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  251 

is  almost  an  impossibility.  There  is  something  wrong  in  the 
best  people  who  live  slovenly.  There  is  no  defence  of  it,  no 
excuse  for  it.  Laziness  and  dirt  go  together.  I  wish  the 
Church  were  free  from  both.  For  the  life  of  me,T  cannot  re- 
spect an  habitually  dirty  man  or  a  slatternly  woman.  The 
plain  truth  is,  I  do  not  try  much.  But  at  Brother  Smith's  — 
for  the  family  were  Methodists — mind  and  body  both  had 
rest.  There  was  nothing  to  offend  the  senses  or  the  taste.  A 
plain,  poor,  humble  man,  he  lived  like  a  Christian  gentleman. 
With  nothing  of  what  is  called  furniture — fifty  dollars  would 
have  bought  every  chair,  bed,  bedstead,  all  the  crockery, 
everything  about  the  house — I  ask  no  better  entertainment 
in  the  way  of  food  or  place  to  sleep,  except  that  I  prefer  a 
mattress  to  a  feather-bed,  winter  and  summer — all  the  time, 
for  myself,  my  family,  my  friends,  and  my  foes.  The  true 
origin  of  spinal  diseases,  nervous  disorders,  headaches,  lan- 
guor, and  debility,  in  many  cases — nay,  in  most — is  feather- 
beds.  I  wish  I  had  them  all  in  one  place,  and  were  at  liberty 
to  do  my  will  upon  them;  I  would  make  a  bonfire,  far  more 
purifying  than  '  Jayne's  Liver  Pills,'  and  more  restorative  to 
feeble  constitutions  than  all  the  empiric  nostrums  puffed  in  a 
thousand  papers.  But  hold  !  your  '  gray  goose-quill'  has  for- 
gotten its  errand  and  is  wandering.  Not  much  out  of  the 
way,  after  all.  I  hope  to  see  the  day  when  the  feathered 
goose  will  be  allowed  to  keep  her  plumage,  or  shed  it  only  in 
the  natural  way ;  and  the  wifeathered  geese,  who  have  so  long 
been  robbing  the  first  with  violent  hands,  will  consider  the 
laws  of  nature,  and  grow  too  wise  to  sleep  on  downy  beds. 

"  My  worthy  host  was  quite  delighted  with  a  heroic  feat 
of  a  son  of  his,  about  ten  years  old,  a  few  days  before  our  ar- 
rival. The  little  fellow  had  gone  down  on  a  neighboring 
creek  with  his  shot-gun  to  hunt  squirrels.  While  wandering 
alone  in  the  woods,  a  huge  bear,  gaunt  and  hungry,  attacked 
him  ;  and  the  brave  boy,  instead  of  running,  stood  still  till 
the  furious  beast  got  within  a  few  feet  of  him,  and  then  with 
deliberate  aim  shot  him.  The  bear  fell ;  but  rose  and  re- 
treated a  little  way ;  the  boy  reloaded,  and  marched  up  and 


252  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  [Char  x. 

slew  him  with  a  second  shot.  The  skin  was  preserved  as  a 
trophy  of  the  son's  courage  and  skill. 

"The  following  day  we  passed  through  what  is  called  '  the 
Wilderness.'"  The  region  deserves  its  name:  wild,  solitary, 
without  a  settler,  the  timid  deer  will  hardly  flee  at  your  ap- 
proach. It  is  the  very  place  that  Cowper  longed  for  ;  but 
'  the  hi:  t  there.      That  must  be  built  by  the  recluse 

after  his  arrival.  A  little  before  nightfall  we  reached  Mrs. 
Harper's,  a  widow  and  a  Methodist.  Bereaved  of  husband 
and  several  children,  she  is  afflicted  indeed  ;  yet  our  Heavenly 
Father  has  mingled  many  alleviations  in  her  cup  of  bitterness. 
She  has  good  hope  in  the  death  of  the  departed,  and  her  own 
faith  is  strong  and  full  of  consolation. 

"  The  next  day  (Saturday)  I  had  an  appointment  to 
preach  at  Minden,  Louisiana.  In  the  morning  it  was  raining, 
and  having  a  hilly,  heavy  road,  I  had  hard  work  to  reach  the 
place  in  time  ;  but  succeeded  in  getting  there  before  the  peo- 
ple dispersed.  The  congregation  was  good,  and  the  service 
pleasant — I  hope  profitable.  Here  I  saw  several  familiar 
faces,  and  shook  hands  with  some  old  friends.  How  delight- 
ful ti  tings  are,  far  from  home,  among  strangers! 

•'  But  the  day's  work  is  not  done.  Eighteen  miles  more 
must  be  passed  in  Order  to  reach  Cross  Roads  by  eleven 
o'clock  to-morrow,    where    another  appointment  awaits  me. 

ther  Lawrence,  a  local  preacher,  wishing  to  be  ordained 
next  day,  has  come  to  guide  me  to  his  house.  Brother  Ran- 
dle,  the  Presiding  Elder  of  the  district,  kindly  accompanies 
me.  Before  dark,  we  arrived,  after  a  '  Gilpin  '  drive,  at 
Brother  Lawrence's  hospitable  mansion.  On  the  Sabbath  I 
met  a  large  and  intelligent-looking  audience,  and  preached 
to  them  on  the  great  plan  of  recovering  mercy.  I  went  home 
with  Brother  Carraway,  near  the  church,  and  spent  the  after- 
noon and  night. 

"  North  Louisiana  is  an  interesting  country  in  many  re- 
spects. Much  of  it  along  our  route  is  broken — far  more  so 
than  I  expected  ;  and  even  the  more  flat  and  level  portions 
are  sufficiently  undulating  for  drainage.       The  citizens  say  it 


1855.]  Life  and  Times  of  George  F-  Pierce. 


253 


is  healthy.  A  stranger,  however,  while  looking  at  the  marshy 
bottoms,  and  the  dull,  sluggish  streams,  would  come  to  a  dif- 
ferent conclusion.  It  is  very  productive,  especially  in  cotton. 
Corn,  too,  does  well,  but  wheat  is  a  very  rare  and  uncertain 

crop. 

"  At  the  time  of  my  visit  the  low  rivers  had  made  biscuit 
scarce.  Men  of  wealth  were  unable  to  procure  flour.  Indeed, 
the  want  of  navigation  through  all  this  region  over  which  we 
have  been  passing  since  we  left  Missouri,  had  put  the  com- 
mon necessaries  of  life,  especially  salt,  at  fabulous  prices. 
This  indispensable  article  had  been  selling  at  from  twelve  to 
twenty-five  dollars  a  bushel.     High  seasoning  that  ! 

"  Descending  a  long  hill,  at  the  base  of  which  there  lies, 
rather  than  runs,  a  stream  (here  called  a  bayou),  we  struck 
Red  River  bottom.  As  we  trotted  down  the  hill  aforesaid,  I 
observed  that  there  was  a  ferry  across  the  bayou.  The  fiat 
was  on  our  side,  and  without  noticing  whether  it  was  fastened 
to  the  bank,  I  drove  in.  When  the  buggy  wh'eels  struck  it, 
away  it  went.  A  diligent  application  of  the  whip  made  the 
horses  jerk  in  the  vehicle,  and  by  the  time  we  were  all  in,  and 
the  ferryman,  by  a  violent  leap,  had  overtaken  us,  we  were 
fairly  over  the  deep,  dark,  narrow  stream.  On  driving  out, 
I  turned  and  asked,   '  How  much  do  I  pay  ?  ' 

"  '  One  dollar,'  was  the  answer. 

"  '  What !  a  dollar  for  crossing  this  little  bayou,  and  fer- 
rying myself?  ' 

"  '  Well,  you  ought  not  to  have  driven  in  till  I  told  you  : 
besides,  there  is  a  bridge  three  miles  from  here,  and  I  take 
toll  for  that  too.' 

"  The  bridge  ahead  was  something  like  a  reason  for  the 
enormous  charge  ;  so  I  left  my  dollar  and  moved  on. 

«'  I  feel  thankful  that  it  was  my  good  fortune  to  cross  this 
famous  bottom  in  a  dry  time.  From  the  bayou  to  the  river 
is  eight  miles.  We  did  our  best,  and  got  through  in  three 
hours  and  a  half.  The  mud  is  a  perfect  cement — a  sort  of  clay 
bitumen,  glutinous,  pitchy ;  cleaving  to  man  and  beast  and 
carriage,  and   making  every  step  of  your  progress  labor  and 


-oi  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  [Oka*.  .\ 

travail.  But  oh,  how  rich  !  What  plantations  might  be  laid 
out  here  if  overflows  could  be  prevented  !  The  nearer  the 
river,  the  higher  the  ground  ;  and  here  vast  cotton-fields  have 
been  opened,  and  such  cotton-stalks  I  never  saw  before. 
They  grow  up  like  saplings,  branching  from  the  ground  and 
laden  with  bolls.  When  I  thought  of  the  little  Tom  Thumb 
weeds  of  Carolina  and  Georgia,  I  felt  sorry  for  the  men  who 
spend  their  lives  in  making  cotton  on  clay  banks  and  sand 
hills.  However,  these  Red- River  planters  do  not  make  and 
save  more  than  one  crop  in  five.  The  casualties  of  the  lo- 
cation make  strongly  against  them  ;  but  such  is  the  amazing 
fertility  of  the  soil  that  they  grow  rich,  I  learn,  very  fast,  de- 
spite their  disadvantages.  The  passion  for  '  the  great  staple  ' 
and  its  gains  must  be  very  strong  in  a  man's  heart  to  settle 
him  down  in  these  regions  of  mud  and  floods,  of  disease  and 
death.  Money  is  the  great  power  in  America,  and  the  free- 
born  citizens  of  the  Great  Republic  are  the  people  to  make 
and  save  it. 

"  Crossing  the  river,  we  drove  into  Shrcvcport,  a  town 
very  favorably  located  for  business.  It  had  been  my  plan  to 
spend  the  Sabbath  here,  but  I  was  forestalled  by  thcappoint- 
ment  at  the  Cross  Roads. 

"  After  inquiring  the  way  to  Marshall  we  drove  through  ; 
and  as  we  had  been  told  to  follow  the  telegraphic  wires,  we 
found  no  difficulty  in  sticking  to  the  right  track.  The  posts 
and  wires  seemed  like  old  acquaintances,  after  our  long  so- 
journ amid  prairies  and  woods;  and  they  indicated,  too,  that 
we  had  returned  to  the  highways  of  a  progressive  people. 
But  this  is  a  new  country  ;  and  although  the  citizens  have 
availed  themselves  of  the  electric  news-carrier,  yonder  comes 
a  relic  of  the  past — a  primitive  medium  of  transportation — a 
cotton-wagon  drawn  by  oxen.  For  forty  miles  we  were 
rarely  out  of  sight  of  these  clumsy  vehicles  and  their  slow- 
moving  teams.  But  their  days  are  numbered;  one  more 
season  of  toil,  and  the  patient  ox  will  rarely  travel  beyond 
his  owner's  broad  acres,  and  the  cumbrous  wagon  will  stand 
still  in  its  shed.     There  upon  the  right  is  an  embankment, 


1855-3  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  255 

and  just  ahead  an  excavation.  These  footprints  of  the 
engineer  are  the  forerunners  of  an  iron  track,  the  iron  horse — 
his  speed  and  his  burden.  When  once  the  steam-whistle 
wakes  the  echoes  of  these  woods  and  vales,  and  the  country 
commands  all  the  facilities  of  a  well-managed  railroad,  emi- 
gration from  the  East  will  receive  a  new  impetus,  and  capital 
and  intelligence  will  work  new  wonders  in  the  West. 

"We  reached  Greenwood,  a  little  village  not  far  from  the 
line  of  Texas,  about  sundown,  and,  driving  up  to  a  fair-look- 
ing hotel,  alighted.  A  young  man,  who  seemed  to  have  the 
management  in  his  hands,  approached  me  with  an  embar- 
rassed air,  and  said  that  the  Circus  Company  had  filled  his 
house,  and  unless  I  could  consent  to  lodge  in  a  room  with 
some  of  the  crowd,  he  could  not  take  me  in.  '  Excuse  me, 
if  you  please,'  said  I;  'I  will  go  on,  and  risk  entertainment 
upon  the  road.'  This  Circus  seemed  to  haunt  me.  I  taxed 
my  wearied  horses  with  a  longer  travel  than  usual  to  get  rid 
of  their  company;  but  they  reached  Marshall  almost  as  soon 
as  I  did ;  and  on  going  to  Henderson,  a  few  days  after,  I 
found  them  again.  I  guess,  however,  they  grew  as  tired  of 
me  as  I  did  of  them  ;  for  at  each  place,  except  the  first,  I 
had  an  appointment  coincident  with  their  hour  of  perform- 
ance ;  and  each  time,  according  to  report,  the  multitude 
rallied  to  the  pulpit  rather  than  to  the  play.  But  when  there 
is  nothing  to  divert  public  attention,  what  crowds  of  the 
giddy  and  thoughtless — ay,  of  old  people  too — nay  (Heaven 
pity  us  !)  of  Church  members  also,  these  mountebanks,  with 
their  calico  horses,  gather  about  them  !  Alas  for  good  taste, 
social  refinement,  intellectual  resources,  and  moral  principle, 
where  these  strolling  vagabonds  find  patronage  ! 

"We  found  a  resting-place  some  two  miles  from  the  vil- 
lage. Even  here,  however,  some  late  incomers  from  the 
show  disturbed  our  slumbers,  and  made  us  wish  we  had  gone 
farther.  Morning  came  at  last,  and  we  made  ready  to  enter 
Texas.  Our  introduction  to  this  Mecca  of  the  emigrant  was 
not  signalized  by  anything  but  our  disappointment.  The 
land  was  not  so  rich,  the  face  of  the  country  was  more  hilly 


256  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.        ■    [Ohap.  x. 

than  I  had  expected  ;  and,  to  my  surprise,  I  saw  in  the  fields, 
on  either  hand,  galled  spots,  numerous  gullies,  old  sedge- 
grass,  and  other  signs  of  waste  and  decay.  But  this  is  not 
Texas  yet.  Even  here,  on  the  border,  the  soil  is  fine — a  re- 
markable mixture  of  clay  and  sand,  easy  to  cultivate,  and, 
with  good  seasons,  very  productive. 

"  Early  in  the  afternoon  of  Tuesday,  November  20th,  we 
reached  Marshall,  the  seat  of  the  East  Texas  Conference. 

"  Marshall  is  an  interesting  town.  There  is  about  it  much 
of  the  beautiful  and  picturesque.  The  plateau  on  which  it  is 
situated  is  itself  quite  an  elevation,  while  around  are  emi- 
nences crowded  with  tasteful  private  residences.  The  people 
are  intelligent,  social,  and  public-spirited,  hospitable  and 
generous  on  a  noble  scale.  I  was  delighted  with  them,  and 
felt  while  there,  and  still  feel,  an  attraction  toward  them, 
almost  strong  enough  to  move  mc  from  the  '  old  red  hills  of 
Georgia.'  Indeed  they  proposed,  if  I  would  come,  to  make 
my  fortune— a  thing  I  never  could  do  for  myself.  I  record 
the  proposition  as  a  specimen  of  their  kindness,  and  as  one  of 
those  outgushings  of  affection  and  good- will  which  takes  from 
the  labor  <>f  the  itinerant  its  burden,  and  makes  exile  from  home 

•ritice  to  be  borne  without  complaint.  I  have  never  asked 
any  favors,  have  declined  some,  never  had  many  offered  ;  but 
in  the  providence  of  God  our  Saviour's  promise  to  those  who 
'leave  all  to  follow  him  '  has  been  virtually  fulfilled  to  me  ; 
and  my  observation  is,  that  those  who  go  forward,  trusting 
his  gracious  word,  are  never  confounded,  neither  left  nor  for- 
saken.       . 

"  1  taring  my  stay  in  this  place,  I  had  the  pleasure  of  meet- 
ing many  Georgia  acquaintances;  among  the  rest,  my  old 
friend,  William  Pinckney  Hill.*  Associated  most  kindly  in 
boyhood  and  early  youth,  we  had  not  seen  each  other  for 

*  This  William  Pinckney  Hill  was  a  brother  <.f  the  noted  Senator  Hill,  and 
was  the  brilliant  associate  of  Bishop  Pierce  in  his  early  ministry.  He  left  the 
ministry  and  the  Church,  and  remained  out  of  it  until  Bishop  Pierce  found  him  in 
Texas,  when  he  again  united  with  it.  He  was  then  a  prominent  lawyer  in  Eastern 
Texas. 


1855.]  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  257 

twenty-three  years.  An  emigrant  to  Texas,  while  yet  it  was 
an  infant  republic,  he  has  lived  amid  its  revolutions  and 
changes ;  and  by  talent,  professional  industry,  honor,  integ- 
rity, and  high-toned  moral  deportment,  he  has  won  a  proud 
position  among  his  fellow-citizens,  and  made  himself  a  name 
that  any  man  might  covet.  The  renewal  of  our  intercourse, 
under  all  its  circumstances  and  results,  constitutes  an  epoch 
in  our  history,  and  will  live  in  the  memory  of  each  while 
life  endures.  Perhaps  in  heaven  we  may  discuss  it  as  one  of 
the  providences  by  which  our  Heavenly  Father  works  out 
his  gracious  purposes.  May  God  bless  him,  his  wife,  his 
sons,  and  his  daughters.        ....... 

"  On  Tuesday  the  29th  of  November  the  Conference 
closed  in  the  usual  way,  and  the  preachers  all  prepared  to 
depart  for  new  fields  of  toil,  and  I  hope  of  triumph  too. 
Having  sold  my  travelling  apparatus,  I  was  thrown  on  my 
friends  for  the  mode  of  conveyance  to  the  several  appoint- 
ments which  had  been  made  for  me  on  the  route  to  Galves- 
ton. My  good  old-new  friend,  Hill,  harnessed  a  noble  team 
to  his  rockaway,  and  took  me  to  the  first  and  second  appoint- 
ments, and  sent  me  to  the  third. 

"Leaving  Marshall  on  Wednesday,  we  travelled  through 
a  very  hilly,  piney-woods  country  to  the  Sabine  River,  and  on 
its  banks  I  saw  some  Texas  lands.  There  is  a  tradition  out 
there  that  if  a  man  drinks  Sabine  water,  something  will  stick 
to  him  to  which  he  has  no  legal  right.  The  ferryman  told 
this  story  to  a  stranger  once,  as  they  were  crossing  the  stream. 
He  knelt  down,  took  a  hearty  draught,  and  when  they  got 
over  he  mounted  his  horse  and  rode  off.  The  ferryman 
hailed  him  and  said,  '  Have  you  not  forgotten  something, 
sir  ? '  The  man  looked  carefully  about  his  person  and  his 
saddle,  and  said,  '  No,  I  believe  not.'  'You  have  not  paid 
your  toll.'  '  No  ;  nor  do  I  intend  to.  I  drank  of  the  Sabine 
River  ;  '  and  away  he  went,  making  the  legend  true  for  once. 

"  About  sunset  we  halted  at  a  brother's  house  near  Be- 
thesda,  where  I  was  to  preach  that  night.  The  church  was 
small,  but  the  congregation  large.     The  lights  were  few  and 


258  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  [Char  x, 

dim.  The  people  looked  to  me  like  dusky  shadows,  and  I 
never  feel  well  in  preaching  where  I  cannot  see.  I  need 
light — terrestrial  and  celestial.  On  the  morrow  we  went  to 
Henderson.  The  court  was  in  session,  but  adjourned  for 
preaching  at  eleven  o'clock.  Here  there  was  light  from  the 
sky,  and  from  Him  that  rules  above.  I  felt  the  Divine  pres- 
ence, and  trust  that  good  was  done. 

"  On  Saturday  morning  (the  next  day)  we  set  out — quite 
a  troop — Gillespie,  Angell,  Ilobbes,  Shanks,  and  Lovick  and 
I.  •  We  left  the  highway,  and  if  I  were  to  say,  took  the 
woods,  it  would  be  no  great  exaggeration.  We  reach. ed  the 
place  a  little  behind  time,  but  the  people  were  waiting,  and 
I  preached  once  more,  and  made  an  appointment  for  Brother 
Gillespie  at  night.  Next  day,  Sunday,  I  preached  again, 
and  for  variety's  sake  must  say  a  little  about  the  singing. 
After  prayer  I  gave  out  a  short-metre  hymn.  A  brother 
who  had  been  leading  the  music  raised  a  common-metre 
tunc.  Thinking  to  reiievchim,  I  announced  the  metre  again. 
lie  tried  the  second  time,  and  failed.  Seeing  that  he  was 
embarrassed,  I  remarked,  'We  will  omit  singing,'  and  com- 
menced giving  out  my  text.  When  I  had  hook,  chap- 
ter, and  verse,  another  brother,  apparently  resolved  upon  a 
song,  tried  his  voice  upon  a  tunc.     He  missed  badly.     Sup- 

•ig  that  he  had  not  heard  me,  I  said  a  little  louder,  '  We 
will  omit  singing,'  and  again  was  telling  where  my  text 
might  be  found,  when,  to  everybody's  amusement,  and  nearly 
to  the  overthrow  of  my  gravity,  a  third  man  lifted  his  voice, 
and  the  sound  '  spranglcd,'  among  notes  generally,  without 
specifying  any.  The  privilege  of  laughing  would  have  been 
a  relief,  but  that  would  have  been  a  rare  preface  to  a  sermon, 
and  so,  holding  my  muscles  to  the  right  place  by  a  stern 
will,  I  proceeded  with  the  text  and  the  discourse.  It  was  a 
good  time. 

"  The  ride  on  Monday  took  us  through  a  wilderness. 
Habitations  were  few  and  far  enough  apart  to  allow  what 
these  Western  people  all  want — a  range  of  cattle.  Much  of 
the  land  over  which  we  travelled  would,  in  the  old  States,  be 


1855.]  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  259 

considered  valuable.  Here  it  is  considered  very  moderate. 
It  is  well  timbered — mostly  pine,  and  partly  oak — and  I 
fancy  fine  for  cotton.  Water  is  scarce,  and  when  found  is 
not  much  of  a  luxury.  We  crossed  the  Neches,  a  stream 
very  narrow  but  very  deep.  If  the  flat-boat  had  been  three 
feet  longer,  it  would  have  been  a  bridge — new  style,  but 
very  safe.  Late  in  the  evening  we  reached  a  small  but  rich 
prairie,  and  found  in  it  several  settlements.  This  was  the 
last  chance  for  entertainment  for  many  a  long  mile,  and  so 
we  put  up. 

"  Our  host  was  a  Methodist,  and  seemed  to  be  a  man  of 
substance  ;  but  every  thing  about  his  premises  was  at  loose 
ends.  He  carries  out  the  free-and-easy  style  of  a  new  coun- 
try fully.  His  wants  are  few,  and  the  mode  of  supply  is  not 
very  material.  His  house  was  as  near  no  house  as  it  could 
be  for  a  house  at  all.  It  was  about  half  covered  ;  the  doors 
•had  no  shutters,  and  the  ventilation  from  all  quarters  was 
perfect.  There  were  twelve  children  in  the  establishment. 
After  supper  a  while  it  was  amusing  to  look  round  upon  the 
little  fellows,  as  they  lay  in  every  direction  before  the  fire — 
on  chests,  on  the  floor,  fast  asleep.  As  the  room  in  which 
we  sat  was  to  be  the  bedchamber  of  the  four  guests,  at  bed- 
time there  was  a  wonderful  picking  up  of  the  scattered  tribe, 
and  neither  father  nor  mother  seemed  to  know  when  they 
had  found  all,  till  they  had  been  counted. 

"When  the  family  had  all  retired  to  a'n  outhouse,  it  be- 
came our  turn  to  fix.  The  main  thing — for  the  night  was  cold 
— was  to  close  the  door.  Brother  Gillespie's  ample  Texas 
blanket  served  our  purpose  very  well,  and  with  sundry  com- 
ments on  the  various  styles  of  living,  mixed  with  some  grum- 
blings about  the  discomforts  around  us,  we  slept — at  least  I 
did — till  the  break  of  day.  It  the  morning,  I  felt  it  to  be  my 
duty  to  hint  to  my  brother  some  improvements  on  his  mode 
of  living.  It  very  soon  appeared,  however,  that,  in  his  own 
conceit,  he  understood  the  subject  far  better  than  I.  At  any 
rate,  he  had  his  notions,  and  they  were  fixed.  He  said  that 
children  ought  not  to  be  washed  or  have  their  clothes  changed 


260  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  [Chap,  x 

more  than  once  a  week  :  that  the  children  who  were  combed, 
and  washed,  and  dressed  every  day,  were  always  pale  and 
sickly,  of  no  account.  Leave  them  to  paddle  in  the  mud- 
holes  with  the  geese  and  the  pigs  ;  dirt  was  wholesome,  and 
so  on.  I  thought  it  was  time  for  me  to  back  out ;  and  so  I 
told  him  I  would  give  him  credit  for  being  very  consistent  ; 
he  carried  out  his  theory  exactly,  and  I  could  not  deny  that 
his  children  looked  very  healthy.  But  I  will  say,  that  I  still 
prefer  a  cleaner  theory,  and  practice  too. 

'  •  We    reached    Sumter,    a  little   straggling,   piney-woods 

n,  before  night,  and  stopped  to  preach.  We  had  to  use 
the  Campbellite  Church,  the  only  one  in  the  place.  I  occu- 
pied the  pulpit,  as  usual.  The  congregation  was  good  and 
attentive,  and  I  hope  some  good  seed  was  sown.  Service 
pcrsed  ;  all  for  a  while  going  the  same  direction. 
The  night  was  very  dark,  and  conversation  free.  One  fellow, 
who  seemed  to  have  his  preconceived  notions  wonderfully 
upsel  :■■  out  as  though  he  were  soliloquizing:  'Well, 
that  is  a  bishop  ;  I  i  ften  heerd  of  'em,  but  never  seed 
Why,  he  is  nothing  but  a  man,  after  all  !  He 
talks  like  other  people  ;   in  fact,  he  preaches  like  Mr.  Z .' 

•her  Angcll,    who   enjoys    a  joke,   and  likes  to  make  the 

most  of  it,  told  me  that  Mr.  Z was  considered  a  tolerable 

exhorter,  but  about  the  poo;  icher  in  Texas.     There, 

now  ;  the  charm  of  episcopacy  in  one  man's  heart  is  dissolved 
forever  !  It  is  doubtful  whether  he  expected  to  see  a  rhino- 
ceros or  an  angel  ;  certainly  something  infra  or  super  human. 
At  any  rate,  my  prestige  as  something  extra  is  gone  with 
that  Sumter  man  ;  perhaps  with  more  than  one,  though  the 
old  Campbellite  preacher  expressed  his  thanks  for  the  ser- 
mon. To  the  orthodox,  that  might  be  considered  a  very 
equivocal  compliment.  Well,  I  cannot  help  it.  I  am  telling 
things  just  as  they  occurred. 

"Brother  Hobbes,  who  had  very  kindly  brought  us  to 
Rusk,  here  surrendered  his  charge,  and  turned  us  over  to 
Brother  Kavanaugh,  who  volunteered  to  take  us  the  rest  of 
the  journey.     I  shall  not  soon  forget  the  kindness  of  these 


1855-]  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  261 

beloved  brethren.  They  gave  more  than  a  cup  of  cold  water. 
The  Lord  reward  them  a  hundred-fold  ! 

"Brother  Gillespie  left  us  at  this  point,  and  took  the 
direct  road  to  Galveston.  I  had  four  other  appointments  yet 
to  meet,  and  we  'parted  asunder,'  without  a  quarrel,  .how- 
ever, and  in  good  humor.  Brother  Sanson  had  come  over 
to  take  us  by  his  house  for  dinner,  on  our  way  to  Moscow. 
He  took  us  through  the  woods  '  for  short,'  fed  us  high,  and 
went  with  us  to  preaching  at  night  at  the  little  town  with 
the  big  name.  Here  I  found  several  Baptist  ministers  con- 
ducting a  revival.  They  gave  way  to  me  courteously.  I 
preached  to  the  people  and  joined  them  in  the  altar  work. 
It  was  a  time  of  tears.  May  the  harvest  be  ready  for  the 
sickle  ! 

"  Galveston,  the  '  city  of  cottages,'  is  a  charming  place. 
Open  to  the  winds  on  every  side,  with  wide  streets  and  sandy 
soil,  and  a  soft  and  balmy  climate,  it  is  eligibly  located  for  a 
great  and  flourishing  mart.  Orange  and  lemon  trees  are 
found  in  almost  every  garden.  They  grow  luxuriantly,  and 
were  laden  with  fruit  when  I  was  there  in  December  last. 
The  oleander  is  the  common  ornamental  shrub  in  the  town. 
It  flourishes  even  along  the  sidewalks.  The  plantain,  too, 
with  its  clustering  fruit,  is  successfully  cultivated.  What  the 
temperature  may  be  in  summer,  I  know  not  ;  but  a  visitor  in 
winter  would  conclude  that  the  good  people  had  the  produc- 
tions of  the  tropics,  without  the  accompanying  fervor  of  a 
tropical  climate.  It  is  well-nigh  impossible  to  conceive  of  a 
finer  beach  than  the  one  around  Galveston.  An  evening 
ride  on  these  surf-beaten  sands  is  a  delightful  recreation. 
The  beautiful  and  the  sublime,  nature  and  art,  the  works  of 
God  and  the  inventions  of  men,  combine  in  panoramic  order. 
The  island,  with  its  human  habitations  ;  the  Gulf,  with  its 
ever-heaving  waters  ;  the  steamship,  bannered  with  smoke, 
proudly  defying  wind  and  wave  ;  the  sea-birds,  with  tireless 
wing  fanning  the  air,  or  descending  to  ride  upon  the  billows  ; 
the  merry  voices  of  the  gay  and  the  glad,  as  they  gather 
shells  upon  the  shore,  mingling  with  the  everlasting  roar  of 


262  Life  and  Tunes  of  George  F.Pierce.  [Ohar  X. 

the  tide  in  its  ebb  and  its  flow,  constitute  a  scene  where  one 
may  well  pause  to  think  and  feel,  to  admire  and  adore. 

"  Galveston  cannot  be  a  sickly  place,  unless  it  be  by  the 
criminal  carelessness  of  the  city  authorities,  or  the  bad  habits 
of  the  people.  Yellow  fever  certainly  cannot  originate  there, 
and  if  it  prevail  at  all,  it  must  be  by  importation.  When 
Texas  shall  count  her  citizens  by  the  million,  and  communi- 
cation with  the  interior  by  railroads  shall  be  opened,  this 
city  on  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  will  become  an  emporium  of 
wealth  and  commerce. 

"Oil  the  30th  of  December,  we  left  on  board  the  Mexico, 
bound  for  New  Orleans.  As  soon  as  the  boat  began  to  rock, 
Lovick,  though  greatly  excited  by  the  novelty  of  everything 
around  him,  and  watching  with  eager  eye  the  various  water- 
fowls that  followed  the  \  hared  the  fate  of  most  voy- 
agers upon  the  deep.  Resisting  with  all  his  might,  sea-sick- 
ness subdued  him  in  two  or  three  hours,  and  no  wonder  of 
could  rouse  him  to  intere  n.      He  kept  his  berth 

he  mouth  of  the  Mississippi,  save  when  he  rose  to  pay  his 
tribute  to  Neptune.  To  us  who  kept  well,  the  voyage  was 
ant  ;  but  some  of  the  p  offered  terribly.     An 

old  lady  who  had  been  put  under  my  charge  was  sick,  appa- 
rently 'nigh  unto  death.'  But  by  a  kind  Providence  we  all 
came  safe  to  land,  '  without  loss  of  the  ship  or  of  any  man's 
life.' 

"  We    reached   New    Orleans  on    Saturday  before  noon, 

jing  up  the  river  for  at  least  three  miles  between  steam- 
boats, sloops,  brigs,  and  ships.  To  an  untra veiled  landlubber, 
there  seemed  to  be  vessels  enough  to  do  the  carrying  of  all 
the  world  and  '  the  rest  of  mankind.' 

"  We  tarried  in  New  Orleans  but  a  few  hours,  and,  ex- 
pecting in  the  order  of  duty  to  visit  it  ere  long,  I  devoted  my 
brief  time  to  one  or  two  friends  whom  I  met  at  the  hotel. 

"In  the  forenoon  we  took  the  Lake  Ponchartrain  Rail- 
road, four  miles  long,  to  the  Lake  it-elf,  where  we  went  on 
board  the  steamer  Florida,  for  Mobile.  How  different  this 
placid   sheet  of  water   from   the    muddy    Mississippi,  or  the 


1S55.]  life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  2G3 

restless  Gulf.  The  boat  was  clean,  well  kept,  the  company 
quiet  and  agreeable  ;  and  so  after  supper  we  lay  down  for  a 
good  night's  rest,  expecting  to  be  in  Mobile  by  breakfast 
time. 

"  But  the  best-concerted  schemes  are  vain,  and  all  human 
hopes  fallacious.  On  this  very  night  began  the  long,  wet, 
cold,  freezing,  snowy  winter,  the  longest  and  the  severest 
ever  known  in  the  South.  A  fog  came  down  so  dense  that 
nothing  but  itself  was  visible.  It  was  amusing  to  hear  the 
steam-whistles  as  they  shrieked  through  the  darkness  ;  each 
vessel  warning  the  other  of  its  presence,  and  seeming  to  say, 
'  Don't  run  into  me,'  or  '  Take  care  of  yourself;  I'm  a  com- 
ing.' It  was  like  a  congregation  of  owls  hooting  to  one  an- 
other in  a  swamp  at  midnight. 

"We  were  delayed  several  hours,  and  did  not  reach 
Mobile  till  eleven  o'clock — too  late  for  preaching.  Withal, 
the  rain  was  pouring  down,  and  shut  us  up  for  the  day.  So 
passed  my  first  Sabbath  in  Mobile.  Denied  the  privilege  of 
preaching,  I  consumed  the  afternoon  in  reading  and  medita- 
tion, and  retired  early,  that  I  might  be  refreshed  for  the  re- 
newal of  my  journey  homeward  on  the  morrow.  In  the 
morning  it  was  raining  still,  and  having  to  wait  till  late  in  the 
afternoon  for  a  boat  to  Montgomery,  we  were  once  more 
thrown  upon  our  own  resources  for  employment. 

"  In  the  afternoon,  nearly  night,  the  William  Jones  raised 
her  steam  or  his  steam  (as  the  reader  pleases — the  name  is 
masculine,  and  the  thing  named  feminine  gender),  and  we 
were  off  for  Montgomery. 

"  The  river  was  booming — the  current  strong.  It  was 
Christmas  eve  ;  we  had  many  '  darkies  '  aboard,  going  to  see 
their  friends,  and  to  spend  the  holidays,  and  we  were  stop- 
ping at  every  plantation.  High  waters,  heavy  freights,  and 
passengers,  white  or  black,  for  every  landing,  made  travel- 
ling very  slow  to  one  impatient  to  get  home.  For  a  fast  age, 
I  rather  think  it  was  slow  motion  anyhow.  The  weather 
grew  intensely  cold,  and  we  were  all  shut  up  in  the  cabin, 
doomed  to  sit  around  a  red-hot  stove,  and  wear  away  the  dull 


2G-L  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  [Char  x. 

days  and  nights  as  best  we  could.  Having  read  all  the  books 
I  had  along,  as  is  common  with  me  in  a  crowd,  I  was  '  swift 
to  hear,  and  slow  to  speak.'  On  this  occasion,  as  often  be- 
fore, I  was  struck  with  the  utter  emptiness  of  the  general 
talk  of  mankind.  In  the  multitude  of  words,  how  few 
thoughts  !  How  inane  and  vapid  the  ideas  of  men  in  their 
common  conversation  !  I  should  think  less  of  it,  if  they  did 
not  seem  to  enjoy  it.  But  with  what  gusto  a  man  will  some- 
times say  nothing  J  With  what  zest  and  passion  and  impre- 
cations men  will  jabber  about  the  veriest  trifles  !  Man,  I 
suppose,  is  a  rational  creature,  but  he  deserves  this  distinc- 
tive title  rather  from  the  possession  than  the  exercise  of  rea- 
In  the  main,  we  are  foolish — very — in  taste,  talk,  and 
action. 

•'  Several  of  the  passengers,  wearied  with  themselves  and 
with  one  another,  sought  relief  in  cards.  Having  escaped 
this  sight  on  the  Cumberland,  the  Mississippi,  the  Missouri, 
the  Gulf,  and  the  Lake,  I  was  very  sorry  to  sec  it  on  the  Ala- 
bama. Hut  these  young  men  played  and  drank  well-nigh  half 
the  trip.  Every  game  was  finished  by  a  resort  to  the  bar, 
where  the  losing  party  treated  the  rest  to  a  dram  and  a  cigar. 
All  well  drenched  and  well  fired",  they  would  return  to  the 
table,  play  another  game,  and  then  for  the  bottle  once  more. 
They  seemed  '  mighty  to  mingle  strong  drink.'  for  none  of 
them  grew  drunk.      I   am    afraid    they   were   used   to   it.      In 

s  and  manners  they  seemed  to  be  well-bred,  but  I  cannot 
help  thinking  that  there  is  a  most  ominous  obliquity  of  prin- 
ciple in  any  young  man  whose  wickedness  emboldens  him  to 
swear  and  drink  and  gamble,  or  to  do  either,  unembarrassed, 
in  the  presence  of  strangers,  gray  heads,  and  reverend  min- 
isters. 

"We  reached  Montgomery  between  midnight  and  day. 
The  whole  town  seemed  wrapped  in  slumber  too  deep  to  be 
pierced  by  the  engine's  whistle.  The  captain  of  the  boat  des- 
patched messenger  after  messenger  to  notify  the  omnibus- 
drivers  that  there  were  loads  of  passengers  at  the  wharf. 
The  boat  was  going  on  to   Wctumpka,  and    we  had  to  go 


i8r>5.]  Ufe  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  2G5 

ashore  and  stand  in  the  bleak  night-wind,  on  the  frozen  bank, 
waiting  to  hear  the  rumbling  wheels  along  the  silent  street. 
But  we  waited  in  vain.  At  last,  rinding  a  negro  who  prom- 
ised to  stand  guard  over  our  baggage,  Ave  went  afoot  to  the 
city.  The  drowsy  drivers  were  finally  aroused  to  their  duty. 
A  warm  fire  and  a  cold  breakfast  prefaced  our  departure  from 
the  hotel  to  the  railroad  depot. 

"  I  should  cheerfully  resign  all  my  interest,  as  a  traveller, 
in  horses,  buggies,  and  steamboats,  to  be  assured  on  every 
route  of  a  railroad.  It  is  a  grand  invention.  A  pyramid  is 
a  regal  toy  compared  with  this  modern  contrivance  for  get- 
ting along.  I  trust  that  all  which  have  been  built  will  last 
for  ever  ;  that  all  in  progress  will  go  on  to  completion  ;  that 
those  which  have  been  talked  about  will  become  realities,  and 
that  thousands  more  will  be  projected  and  finished.  Success 
to  them  all  !  Highways  of  travel  and  commerce,  they  facili- 
tate intercourse,  enrich  the  country,  save  time,  and  enable  a 
man  to  see  as  much — to  go  as  far  in  a  few  months — as  in  the 
ordinary  lifetime  of  our  grandfathers.  What  a  boon  to  a 
man  who  has  been  long  from  home  !  How  swiftly  they  bear 
him  on  his  way  !  The  iron  horse  seems  to  sympathize  with 
his  impatience,  and,  breathing  smoke  and  fire,  bounds  along 
his  destined  track  as  though  he  were  glad  to  confer  a  favor. 
I  acknowledge  my  indebtedness  for  his  help  on  many  aweary 
journey. 

"  We  left  Montgomery  about  daybreak  for  Opelika.  The 
rains  had  been  heavy,  the  weather  was  intensely  cold,  the 
road  rather  out  of  order,  yet  our  speed  was  respectable. 

"  When  day  was  fully  come,  the  conductor  came  around, 
examining  tickets  and  collecting  passage  money.  Two  seats 
before  me  sat  a  man,  well  dressed  and  rather  grave-looking. 
He  offered  money  which  was  declined  ;  he  then  refused  to 
pay  till  he  should  reach  West  Point.  His  idea  seemed  to  be, 
that  change  of  place  would  improve  the  currency  of  his  bills. 
The  conductor  insisted  on  immediate  payment — the  man 
stubbornly  refused.  He  was  informed  that  he  must  pay  or 
he  would  be  put  out.     He  sneered  at  the  threat,  and  said  he 


2G6  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  [Char  x. 

knew  bow  to  defend  himself.  We  all  expected  a  fight,  per- 
haps a  little  blood-letting.  The  man  acted  so  foolishly,  and 
the  conductor  was  so  clearly  but  doing  his  duty,  that  no  one 
interfered  by  word  or  deed.  The  train  was  stopped,  and  the 
scuffle  began.  The  conductor  was  overmatched  in  strength. 
He  could  not  tear  the  fellow  loose  from  his  seat.  Grasping 
the  arm  of  his  seat,  he  held  on,  offering  no  other  resistance. 
Aid  was  summoned  from  another  car,  and  the  alliance  was 
too  strong  for  the  rebellious  passenger.  He  was  torn  from 
his  moorings,  dragged  to  the  door,  and  very  unceremoniously 
hurled  down  an  embankment.  Quickly  rising,  he  faced  his 
foe  and  rushed  for  the  platform.  By  the  time  he  was  fairly 
on  the  road,  the  train  was  in  motion,  and  his  only  chance 
was  to  seize  the  rear  platform  of  the  hindmost  car  :  this  he 
did,  and  was  struggling  to  get  on  the  now  rapidly  moving 
train,  when  the  conductor  saw  him.  Rushing  to  him,  by 
sundry  Stamps  upon  his  fingers  and  kicks  upon  his  person, 
he  succeeded  in  detaching  the  man  from  his  hold,  and  un- 
fortunately for  the  poor  fellow,  he  fell  just  as  the  cars  were 
ing  a  bridge  in  the  middle  of  a  long  embankment  ;  he 
dropped  on'  ',  and  we  saw  him  no   more.      The  man's 

anxiety  to  get  rid  <>f  a  doubtful    bill   made    him    a    fool.      He 
had  money,   gold    and    silver  and  paper,  ami  yet  insisted  on 

ting  off  his  spurious  bills.  I  hope  his  reflections  under 
the  bridge  will  make  him  a  wiser  man. 

"  All  along  the  route  to-day  we  had  rumors  of  land  slides, 
broken  engines,  and  cars  overturned  ;  and  very  soon  we  had 
ocular  evidence  of  the  truth  of  these  statements.  We  found 
a  noble  engine  on  the  way  broken   down   and   capsized  ;  and 

reaching  Opelika,  the  train  from  Columbus  then  due  had 
not  arrived.  After  waiting  a  long  time,  the  passengers  pre- 
vailed on  the  conductor  to  send  us  on.  Nearly  a  mile  from 
the  Chattahoochee  we  were  brought  to  a  full  stop  by  the 
caving  in  of  the  road.  The  train  which  ought  to  have  met  us 
at  Opelika  was  there,  the  engine  buried  in  mud  and  dirt — 
no  chance  t o  Now  we  must    walk  three   miles  round, 

by  Girard,  to  Columbus,  or  foot  it  over  the  unfinished  bridge 


1^55- ]  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  2C7 

by  stepping  from  cross-tie  to  cross-tie,  for  a  very  considerable 
distance  at  either  end.  The  middle  was  planked  over.  I 
determined  to  risk  the  latter.  The  river  was  swollen,  rushing 
and  foaming  below,  and  the  wind  blowing  a  gale  above.  I 
confess  I  did  not  like  the  experiment.  Most  of  the  passen- 
gers declined  it,  preferring  to  wait  till  an  omnibus  could  come 
round  for  them.  My  chief  fear,  was  for  Lovick,  but  he  thought 
he  could  venture  it;  and  so,  with  one  other,  we  took  up  the 
line  of  march.  To  direct  my  son's  mind  and  my  own  from 
the  real  dangers  of  the  passage  (a  misstep  would  have 
plunged  us  into  the  river),  I  commenced  a  cheerful  conversa- 
tion about  home  and  the  friends  we  were  soon  to  see.  We 
landed  safely,  but  a  little  weak  about  the  knees.  I  cannot 
recommend  walking  over  long,  high  bridges  on  cross-ties. 
Better  wait  for  the  omnibus. 

"  As  we  stepped  from  the  bridge  on  the  ground,  we 
'  shook  hands  in  our  hearts  '  with  old  Georgia.  A  very  de- 
cided home-feeling  came  over  us.  A  brief  walk  brought  us 
to  the  house  of  my  brother-in-law,  Mr.  Gambrill,  and  there  I 
found  my  venerable  father,  two  sisters,  and  other  friends. 
How  pleasant  these  interviews  after  long  separation  !  With- 
out the  occasional  salutations  of  kinsfolk,  how  lonely  life 
would  be  !     Thank  God  for  home  sympathy  and  friends  ! 

"  As  a  filial  duty,  and  to  gratify  my  own  long-cherished 
affections,  we  tarried  till  the  next  day  noon.  We  left  Col- 
umbus on  Friday  afternoon,  cheered  with  the  hope  of  reach- 
ing home  on  Saturday  night.  The  long,  hard  rains  had  dis- 
arranged all  the  roads,  and  made  travelling  comparatively 
slow  :  the  ordinary  speed  was  dangerous.  Nevertheless,  we 
reached  Macon  in  due  season,  and  were  then  within  sixty 
miles  of  home.  Here  we  learned  that  the  Oconee  River  was 
impassable,  and  that  we  could  not  go  through  on  the  direct 
route.  Disappointed,  but  not  desponding,  we  took  the  train 
for  Atlanta,  resolving  to  go  one  hundred  and  thirty  miles 
rather  than  not  reach  the  end  of  the  sixty.  Reaching  Atlanta, , 
we  took  the  Georgia  road  for  Double  Wells,  expecting  there 
to  find  the  stage.      On  our  arrival,  to  our  dismay,  we  learned 


2G8  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  [Ohap.X 

that  the  schedule  had  been  changed,  and  that  the  stage  would 
not  leave  till  morning.  There  was  but  one  more  chance  to 
carry  out  our  plan  of  reaching  home  that  night.  So,  mount- 
ing the  cars  once  more,  we  set  out  for  Warrcnton,  where  we 
proposed  to  hire  a  conveyance.  In  due  course  of  events  we 
readied  YV.irrcnton.  Seventeen  miles  more  to  travel — the 
rain  falling — roads  bad — sun  down — but  we  must  go.  Now 
fur  the  livery-stable.  Alas  !  our  troubles  are  not  over  yet. 
The  horses  were  all  hired  out,  and  the  only  locomotives  we 
could  procure  were  a  pair  of  pony-mules,  not  much  bigger 
than  a  good  Newfoundland  dog,  and  not  much  faster  than  a 

■  of  steers.      By  the  time  we  geared  up   ready   for  travel, 
the  evening  shades  were  on  us,   thickened  by  a  cloudy  sky 

.1  misty  rain.  But  we  know  the  road,  ami  can  drive  in 
the  dark.  The  driver  takes  his  seat,  and  off  we  move.  One 
and  another  cried  out  as  we  passed  along  the  street,  '  \ 
c  mnot  get  home  to-night  :  the  creeks  are  swimming,  and  the 
bridge  at  the  river  is  covered  with  water.'  I  had  crossed 
these  streams  many  a  time  when  the}'  were  very  full,  and 
concluded  t>>  try  them  again.  On  we  went,  by  dint  of  jerks 
and  shouts,  and  sprouts  cut  by  the  wayside,  at  the  rate  <>f 
two  miles  and  a  half  per  hour.  The  first,  second,  ami  third 
creeks  were  passed  in  safety,  though  with  difficulty.  The 
fourth  and  the  worst  was  to  come.  Before  we  reached  it  we 
heard  it  was  swimming  from  side  to  side,  and  that  a  man 
essaying  to  cross  had  narrowly  escaped  drowning.  Still,  on 
we  went.  By  and  by  we  came  within  sound  of  the  rushing 
waters,  and  although  it  was  too  dark  to  see  much,  I  was  very 
well  satisfied  our  little  team  could  never  navigate  that  roaring 
flood.  On  land  a  mule  has  a  way  of  his  own  ;  but  in  water 
he  will  not  obey  his  driver,  and  has  not  sense  enough  to 
choose  for  himself.  He  is  a  poor  panic-stricken  beast,  and 
gives  himself  up  to  his  fate.  With  good  horses  I  should  have 
tried  to  cross,  but  with  Balaam  and  Balak  I  declined,  and 
yielded  to  the  doom  I  had  labored  to  avoid.  To  lodge  within 
ten  or  twelve  miles  of  home  was  quite  a  trial  ;  but  there  was 
no  alternative.     We  spent  a  very  comfortable  night  with  Dr. 


LS55.]  ufe  an(i  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  269 

Lynch,  in  spite  of  our  disappointment.  It  seemed  a  little 
strange  that  all  the  troubles  of  so  long  atrip  should  have  been 
gathered  about  its  close  ;  but  when  I  remembered  how  we 
had  been  favored  with  health  and  weather,  had  travelled  by 
land  and  water  four  thousand  miles  and  more,  without  acci- 
dent or  injury,  I  felt  that  we  had  neither  right  nor  reason  to 
complain.  Nevertheless,  if  I  had  been  called  on,  I  think  I 
could  have  made  a  stirring  speech  in  favor  of  a  railroad  from 
Warrenton  by  Sparta  to  Macon.  With  the  belief  that  this 
road  would  be  built,  I  chose  my  home,  but  begin  to  think  I 
shall  be  forced  to  change  'Sunshine'  for  '  Shadydale,'  or 
some  other  more  accessible  place. 

"  Early  next  morning  we  set  out  to  reach  home,  and  re- 
lieve the  anxiety  of  those  who  watched  for  our  coming  the 
last  night.  The  light  revealed  the  fact  that  we  acted  wisely 
in  not  braving  the  flood.  We  should  have  been  swamped  in 
the  swollen  waters.  Our  team,  refreshed  by  a  night's  repose, 
and  urged  by  the  appliances  for  such  cases  made  and  pro- 
vided, trotted  along  right  merrily,  and  ere  long  our  glad  eyes 
looked  upon  loved  faces  and  scenes  familiar.  We  were  at 
home.  Virgin  lands,  unfelled  forests,  rolling  prairies,  all  have 
their  charms  ;  but  the  old  fields,  the  well-known  roads,  and 
even  the  red  hills,  endeared  by  long  association  and  conse- 
crated by  toil  and  self-denial,  are  to  me  dearer  still.  As  a 
man,  I  should  never  move  to  a  new  country  for  the  sake  of 
gain ;  as  a  preacher,  I  may,  from  a  sense  of  duty  and  for  the 
sake  of  usefulness." 


CHAPTER  XT. 

EPISCOPAL  JOURNEYINGS,  1856,  AGED  45. 

Dedication  of  a.  Church  in  Newark,  N.  J. — Memorial  Sermon  of  Bishop 
Capers — Dedication  in  Washington,  D.  C. — Journey  to  the  West  — 
Letter  from  St.  Louis — Up  the  River — Border  Ruffians — Governor 
dangers — Goes  into  the  Lion's  Mouth — Bleeding  Kansas — 
Returns  to  Missouri — Conference  at  Louisiana,  Mo.  —  Letter  from 
S.  W.  Cope — To  Arkansas — The  Trick — Homeward  Bound — Many 
Adventures — Home  Again — Church  Dedication — Visit  to  Memphis 
— Offered  a  Home — Declines. 

1 1 1  only  rested  a  little  while  in  Sunshine  before  he  was  called 
to  make  a  very  different  journey.  A  new  church  had  been 
built  in  Newark.  X.  J.      At  that  time  it  was  one  of  the  hand- 

.  -st  in  the  Northern  Connection,  and  it  was  desired  to  get 
the  two  bishops  —Simpson  and  Pierce — to  unite  in  the  dedi- 
cation of  it.  Bishop  Pierce  was  never  unwilling  to  do  any- 
thing the  Church  called  for  anywhere  ;  but  he  did  not  enjoy 

e  great  1  na  where  he  was  to  be  an  attraction,  and 

when  the  request  was  made  he  refused  to  accede  to  it  ;  but 
when  the  Rev.  Mr.  Cox,  the  pastor,  came  all  the  way  from 
Newark  to  press  personally  his  petition,  he  could  refuse  no 
longer.  He  had  no  dislike  to  Northern  people,  or  the  North- 
ern branch  of  the  M.  E.  Church.  He  did  not  approve  of  the 
border  warfare  then  going  on,  and  regretted  the  conflict 
between  these  sections.  He  was  very  ardent  in  his  attach- 
ment for  a  distinct  Southern  Church,  but  his  heart  had  a  ten- 
der place  for  all  the  Northern  people,  and  he  could  refuse  no 
longer.  lie  went  at  the  request  of  the  builders  of  the  church, 
and  preached  for  them  three  times  on  the  24th  of  February, 
1856.  The  last  visit  he  made  to  the  North  was  made  in  1879, 
when  he  went  to  attend  the  silver  wedding  of  this  church. 


1856.]  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  271 

In  May,  at  the  bishops'  meeting  in  Nashville,  he  preached 
his  famous  sermon  on  the  death  of  Bishop  Capers,  which  was 
his  first  published  sermon  ;  it  is  found  in  the  volume  of  "  Ser- 
mons and  Addresses."  The  opening  paragraph  of  the  sermon 
presents  his  view  of  the  true  Christian  Life  : 

"  The  spirit  of  Christianity  is  essentially  a  public  spirit. 
It  ignores  all  selfishness  ;  it  is  benevolence  embodied  and 
alive,  and  full  of  plans  for  the  benefit  of  the  world,  and 
actively  at  work  to  make  them  effective.  The  world  is  its 
parish.  .  .  .  Living  unto  the  Lord  may  be  considered 
as  implying  that  we  distinctly  recognize  the  will  of  God  as 
the  rule  of  life.  .  .  .  It  is  important  to  remember  that 
the  service  we  are  to  perform  is  not  left  to  our  choice  ;  we 
have  no  right  of  legislation  in  the  premises.  '  Lord,  what 
wilt  thou  have  me  to  do,'  ought  to  be  the  inquiry  of  every 
human  spirit.  ...  I  know  that  many  profess  and  seem 
to  be  religious  on  lower  principles,  public  opinion,  consist- 
ency, ease  of  conscience  ;  to  shun  hell,  to  gain  heaven  ;  all 
operate,  and  they  supersede  and  dethrone  the  higher  law  of 
the  text ;  not  that  these  motives  are  illegitimate,  but  partial 
and  inferior." 

In  June  of  this  year  he  was  invited  to  dedicate  the  new 
church,  which  had  been  secured  by  the  efforts  of  W.  T. 
Smithson,  for  the  heroic  band  of  Southern  Methodists  who 
were  in  Washington,  D.  C.  His  old  friend,  Robert  Toombs, 
was  then  senator  from  Georgia,  and  his  wife  was  a  faithful 
member  of  the  Southern  Church  in  Washington.  The  bishop 
received  great  attention  on  this  visit.  The  President,  Frank- 
lin Pierce,  and  his  family  were  at  the  dedication,  and  the 
chief  men  of  Washington  crowded  the  little  church  to  hear 
the  sermon.  He  was  at  his  best,  and  the  sermon  was  one  of 
great  powjsr.  It  was  on  a  favorite  text  of  his,  John  i.  14. 
Of  course  there  was  a  collection  to  be  taken,  and  Mr.  Toombs 
gave  him  $600.  At  night  he  preached  on  his  favorite  theme, 
Prayer,  from  1  Tim.  i.  8. 

He  reached  home  so  as  to  preach  on  June  23d,  and  then, 
with  the  exception  of  a  two  days'  visit  to  the  Greene  Camp- 


272  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  [Chai-.  xi. 

ground,  in  August,  he  remained  at  home  till  September, 
when  he  turned  his  face  once  more  toward  the  Far  West.  I 
am  enabled  again  to  use  his  own  pen  to  tell  the  story.  He 
says  as  a  quasi  apology  for  writing: 

"The  people  ought  to  know  what  the  episcopacy  is  about, 
what  the  several  Conferences  are  doing  ;  the  location,   condi- 

:,  and  results  of  our  missions;  and,  indeed,  everything 
that  characterizes  our  policy  and  its  issues.  I  do  not  believe 
in  church  secrets.  Let  the  people  know  what  is  wanted,  and 
why  ;   what  .  and   how.     One  in  doctrine,  discipline, 

economy,  let  us  learn  to  know  and  to  love  each  other,  so  that 
if  one  member  suffers,  all  the  rest  may  suffer  with  it.  If 
Methodism  prospers  in  Missouri,  let  Virginia  thrill  with  the 
tidings  ;  if  the  prairies  of  Kansas  blaze  with  religious  fervor, 
let  the  mountains  of  Tennessee  clap  their  hands;  if  the  mis- 
sions of  South  Carolina,  Georgia,  and  Alabama  multiply  in 
numbers  and  in  membership,  let  Kentucky  shout  her  thanks- 
giving ;  if  Arkansas  comes  up  from  the  wilderness,  fair  as  the 
sun,  let  the  old  North  State  rejoice  and  be  exceeding  glad  ;  if 
Texas    goes   on  race   to  grace,    waxes   stronger    and 

stronger,  let  Mississippi  and  Florida  glory  in  her  rising  star, 
and  let  each  Conference  provoke  every  other  to  love  and  to 
:  ks. 

"  [n  visiting  Conferences  where  I  was  an  entire  stranger, 
I  have  often  felt  exhilarated  by  the  home -feeling  that  comes 
over  me  as  soon  as  business  begins.  Far,  very  far  from  my  na- 
tive Conference,  yet  I  hear  the  old  familiar  phrases  progress 
in  the  same  order,  feel  the  same  spirit  pervading  all,  mingle  in 
the  house  of  God  in  the  same  simple  service,  and  realize  that 
Methodism  is  everywhere  a  living,  spiritual  organism,  flexible 
enough  to  adapt  itself  to  every  form  of  society,  and  yet,  with- 
out the  compromise  of  her  doctrines  or  her  economy,  aggres- 
sive enough  to  multiply  her  conquests  and  to  extend  her  bor- 
ders, without  weakening  herself  in  her  old  domain  ;  and,  in 
all  place-,  a  genial,  expansive,  warm-hearted  system,  mould- 
ing thought  and  character  on  the  best  pattern  of  Christian 
experience   and   gospel   achievement.      However   some    may 


1856.]  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  273 

malign  and  persecute  her,  and  whatever  her  real  faults  (and 
I  do  not  claim  perfection  for  her),  the  mission  of  Methodism 
is  grand — sublime.  Her  world-wide  plans,  generous  sympa- 
thies, catholic  doctrines  ;  her  disdain  of  difficulties  and  love 
of  enterprise  ;  her  heroic  pioneers,  and  self-sacrificing  minis- 
try, and  ever-growing  membership,  all  attest  her  providential 
origin,  progress,  and  destiny.  I  like  Athens,  and  Antioch, 
and  Corinth,  and  Rome  ;  but  Jerusalem — our  Jerusalem— 
most  of  all.  Peace  be  within  her  walls,  and  prosperity  within 
her  palaces ! 

"  These  letters  are  written  with  the  hope  that  they  may 
increase  the  connectional  feeling,  interest  those  in  the  bounds 
of  their  circulation  in  behalf  of  the  more  distant  Conferences, 
and,  by  narrative,  incident,  reflection,  and  appeal,  illustrate 
the  working  of  Methodism,  show  the  labors  and  trials  of  its 
agents,  and  help,  by  the  blessing  of  God,  to  rouse  ministers 
and  members  to  more  self-denial,  liberality,  and  devotion. 

"  Now,  I  have  nothing  very  strange  to  tell,  certainly  do 
not  mean  to  magnify  myself,  and  yet  I  confess  to  pleasure  in 
the  recollection  that  I  have,  as  a  man  and  a  preacher,  proved 
my  faith  by  my  works,  sustained  my  principles  by  my  prac- 
tice, and  have  done  what  I  believe  and  teach  others  ought  to 
do.  To  leave  a  home  a  man  loves — his  wife  in  tears,  his 
children  loath  to  let  him  go — four  months  of  long  travel  and 
work  before  him — is  no  small  tax  upon  one's  natural  feelings. 
Before  the  time  to  start  shall  have  arrived,  the  thought  of  it 
will  come  to  cast  its  shadow  upon  the  brightness  of  the  pass- 
ing hour. 

"  On  August  28,  1856,  I  left  home  for  Kansas.  The  old 
hack  which  runs  daily  back  and  forth  from  Sparta  to  Cum- 
ming  was  fortunately  out  of  order,  and  a  very  clever  little 
carriage,  rather  the  worse  for  wear,  had  been  substituted. 
'  Parson  Brown '  and  his  compeer,  worn  down  with  service 
and  full  of  honors,  had  retired  from  the  '  line,'  and  Mr.  R., 
the  driver,  gloried  in  another  team.  Of  their  speed  and  bot- 
tom I   say  nothing,  except  that  I  arrived  in  time  to  take  the 

night  train  up  the  Georgia  Railroad.     It  was  my  plan  to  stop 
18 


27-4  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.         [Chap.  XL 

and  preach  the  next  day  (the  Sabbath)  in  Madison.  In  the 
morning,  however,  an  equinoctial  storm  was  in  full  blast. 
The  rains  descended,  the  winds  raged  all  the  day,  and  amid 
the  war  of  elements  the  church-going  bell  was  still.  The 
night  was  tempestuous,  and  so  I  remained  till  the  follow- 
ing day.  My  nephew  and  namesake — whose  ambition  to 
travel  had  been  roused  by  Lovick's  stories  of  the  former  trip — 
by  his  father's  consent,  concluded  to  go  with  me. 

"The  route  to  Nashville  is  too  familiar  for  description. 
Without  any  accident  or  incident  we  reached  that  point  in 
due  course  of  mail.  The  Cumberland,  despite  my  former 
eulogy,  I  found  very  low — too  low  for  navigation.  Dr. 
Green,  who  sticks  t<>  what  he  says,  insisted  that  I  might  go 
down  on  some  little  craft,  the  name  of  which  I  have  forgotten, 
but  everybody  else  said,  '  Take  the  stage  to  Louisville.' 
The  truth,  then,  must  be  told — the  Cumberland  does  become 
'  Goose  Creek  '  in  very  thy  weather.     At  such  a  time,  how- 

r.  the  Ohio  nearly  ceases  to  run,  and  the  Father  of 
Waters  uncovers  man}-  a  sandbank.  With  undiminished  re- 
spect for  its  general  capacity,  and  only  slightly  abated  con- 
fidence in  its  volume  and  depth,  I  hope  it  will  rise  high 
enough  and  keep  up  long  enough  to  carry  off  many  steam- 
boat loads  of  Methodist  literature  for  Western  distribution. 

"  Ten  passengers  and  two  hundred  miles  of  staging — start- 
ing at  two  o'clock  in  the  morning  !  But  the  road  is  macad- 
amized, and  there  is  no  other  way  to  reach  Kansas  Confer- 
ence in  time.     Come  George,  wake  up  !  we  must  go. 

"  On  the  second  day,  about  dark,  and  in  a  heavy  shower, 
we  drove  up  to  the  Gait  House,  in  Louisville. 

"  Rising  earl}'  on  the  morning  of  the  3d  of  September, 
we  took  the  omnibus,  and,  crossing  the  Ohio  in  a  ferry-boat, 
soon  reached  the  depot  of  the  Jeflfersonville  and  Indianapolis 
Railroad.  The  cars  were  full,  and  the  rush  of  the  iron  horse 
was  but  a  type  of  the  spirit  which  seemed  to  move  the 
people.  Business,  pleasure,  politics — each  had  representa- 
tives in  the  mixed  multitude.  YVe  soon  reached  Indian- 
apolis, the  capital  of  Indiana,  and  the  centre  of  her  railroads. 


1856.]  Life  ani  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  275 

"Eight  roads  diverge  from  this  point ;  and  the  traveller 
has  use  for  both  eyes,  and  must  needs  show  his  kinship  with 
the  great  Yankee  nation,  by  asking  sundry  questions,  or  he 
may  find  himself  on  the  wrong  train  ;  on  this  day  the  con- 
fusion was  great,  and  is  no  less,  perhaps,  any  other  day. 
The  engine  whistles,  the  caterers  for  the  city  hotels,  the 
porters,  the  hackdrivers,  the  agents  of  rival  routes,  all  take 
part  in  the  noise  and  bewilderment.  It  is  Babel  without  its 
terror,  or  Bedlam  without  its  maniacs.  One  came  by  ere 
lone  and  informed  me  that  those  seats  were  reserved  for 
ladies,  and  that  I  must  move.  To  him  I  looked  '  No  ;  '  and 
as  he  waited  for  an  answer,  I  informed  him  that  I  would 
move  when  I  saw  a  lady  without  a  seat,  and  not  till  then,  un- 
less he  would  provide  me  with  another.  He  promised  to  do 
so,  but  I  saw  him  no  more. 

"  Our  trip  to-day  was  enlivened  by  an  election.  It  excit- 
ed as  much  interest  as  though  the  issue  really  involved  the 
destiny  of  the  nation.  Men,  women,  children,  were  all  eager 
to  learn  the  result,  and  received  the  report  with  sad  or  beam- 
ing faces,  according  to  their  partialities.  These  elections 
were  common  on  all  the  public  routes,  by  land  and  water  ; 
and  it  is  a  little  strange  that,  however  they  might  indicate 
individual  preference,  they  were  exponents  of  public  senti- 
ment in  hardly  a  single  instance.  Many  of  these  reports 
found  their  way  into  the  papers,  and  became  the  basis  of  the 
most  delusive  calculations,  and  were  appealed  to  as  data  by 
which  to  regulate  bets  and  to  stimulate  party  zeal.  Why 
these  straws  did  not  show  which  way  the  wind  blew,  I  shall 
leave  these  political  philosophers  to  settle,  as  best  they  can. 

"  It  is  unfair  to  make  up  an  opinion  of  a  State,  its  soil,  or 
its  people,  by  what  one  sees  along  the  line  of  any  of  its  great 
thoroughfares.  The  curious  gazers  or  the  active  workers 
about  depots  are  not  specimens,  even  of  the  masses.  They 
are  not  examples  of  either  the  manners  or  the  morals  of  the 
community  to  which  they  belong.  Much,  however,  meets 
the  eye  to  indicate  the  general  character  of  the  country  and 
its   inhabitants.     From  the  visible   signs   I   should  consider 


27G  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  [Ou*  XI 

Indiana  in  progress  of  rapid  development.  Her  people  seem 
busy  and  enterprising  ;  villages  and  factories  of  various  kinds 
abound.  Within  ten  miles  I  counted  seven  embryo  towns — 
places  with  a  name  ;  and  each  struggling  for  recognition  in 
the  next  edition  of  American  Geography.  The  style  of 
building  shows  that  the  people  arc  '  progressive.'  Modern 
fashions  prevail.  Here  and  there  some  old  fogy  defies  the 
order  of  the  day,  and  builds  as  his  grandfather  used  to  build. 

'•  I  a  in  sorry  to  say  that  I  saw  on  the  line  a  large  whiskey 
distillery,  where  the  precious  grain  of  the  earth,  which  God 
intended  to  ho.  food  for  man  and  beast,  is  converted  into 
liquid  poison,  and  then  disked  and  barrelled  for  a  sort  of 
itinerant  destruction  of  men.  These  drink  and  perish.  The 
swine,  I  learned — indeed,  I  saw — fare  better.  They  are 
fattened  by  thousands  on  the  swill  of  the  establishment. 
The  sight  of  the  pens  is  enough  to  disgust  one  with  hogs  and 
whiskey  too.      It  i-  -aid  that  the  odors,  in  a  hot  day.  toad  the 

rounding  atmosphere,  and  taint  the  air  fur  miles.  Those 
who  live  and  work  on  the  premises  must  be-- what  shall  I 
call  them  ? — martyrs,  suicides,  or  pirates  ?  Or  arc  the}'  a 
non  lescripl  f  all  the  three?      I  saw  more,  smelt 

more  than  was  pleasant,  in  passing  at  the  rate  of  twenty 
miles  an  hour. 

"  Al    two    A.M.  we   arrive.      The    omnibus    is    ready — all 

ird — over    the    ferry — in    St.    Louis.      We    stop    at    the 
Planter'-  House,  and   find   every  room    full.      Weary,  sic 
what  shall  we  do  till  morning  light  appears?     '  Is  the  sitting 
room   occupied?'     'No.'     Away    we    go.     Ah!     here    is    a 
sett 

"  With  cloak  and  overcoat  for  pillow  and  covering,  I  laid 
mc  deep.     George  tied  a  couple  of  chairs  together 

with  his  handkerchief,  and  found  a  position,  after  many  cxper- 
to  suit  him — a  kind  of  half-recumbent,  half-hanging 
position — and  we  heard  no  more  of  him  till  sunrise.  Break- 
fast over,  we  sallied  out  to  see  the  city,  and  called  upon  some 
friend-.  The  preachers  were  gone,  some  to  camp-meeting, 
some  to    distant    appointments  ;     and    so,   after    visiting    the 


1856.]  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  277 

Advocate  office,  and  looking  over  the  papers,  we  prepared 
to  leave  for  Kansas.  We  reached  the  city  about  dark,  and 
immediately  went  aboard  one  of  the  packets  which  run 
daily,  in  connection  with  the  railroad,  to  all  points  up  the 
Mississippi  River  as  high  as  St.  Joseph.  From  this  point 
matters  of  more  interest  will  pass  before  us." 

While  waiting  in  St.  Louis  he  wrote  to  Claude  : 

"  St.  Louis,  October  5,  1856. 

"  My  DEAR  CLAUDE  :  Yesterday  I  wrote  to  your  mother. 
To-day  I  drop  you  a  line.  Dr.  Taylor  is  to  be  here,  and  I 
learn  will  go  back  to  South  Carolina.  If  I  had  known  this 
you  might  have  come  with  me  and  gone  back  from  this 
place.  I  am  very  sorry  for  your  disappointment  on  your 
account  and  on  mine.  A  fragment  of  home  is  very  pleasant 
to  me  on  these  long  routes.  '  The  milk  is  spilt'  now,  and  it 
is  useless  to  mourn. 

"  I  wish,  my  daughter,  that  you  would  devote  yourself  to 
serious  reading.  It  is  necessary  not  only  to  develop  your 
mind  and  make  your  knowledge  respectable  in  society,  but 
it  is  a  high  moral  duty.  It  is  a  grave  question  whether  a 
Christian  ought  to  read  anything  that  does  not  increase 
knowledge  and  prepare  for  life.  The  very  most  that  can  be 
allowed  on  the  other  side  is  a  little  light  reading  for  recrea- 
tion. You,  I  fear,  are  wasting  time  with  magazines  and  tales 
and  empty  stories  in  general.  This  is  a  great  evil,  in  fact  a 
sin.  Quit  it.  Read  history,  biography,  poetry,  the  Eng- 
lish classics  ;  study  the  Bible  in  its  doctrines,  principles,  and 
history.  You  will  thus  improve  your  mind,  heart,  character. 
I  want  you  to  be  wise,  good,  happy.  The  time  has  come 
for  you  to  prepare  earnestly  for  life  and  its  responsibilities. 
A  word  to  the  wise  is  sufficient. 

"  Tell  John  to  have  the  cotton  ginned  and  packed  as  soon 
as  possible.     I  will  write  to  him  about  selling  it. 

"  Let  us  pray  for  each  other. 

"  Your  affectionate  father, 

"  G.  F.  P." 


278  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  [Chip.  XL 

His  letters  to  the  Advocate  say  : 

"  When  we  took  the  steam  packet  at  Jefferson  City  on 
Saturday  night,  it  was  my  purpose  to  stop  and  preach  at 
Boonville.  As  the  river  was  so  low  I  concluded  to  preach  on 
the  boat.  lean  sometimes  start  a  tune  and,  if  others  will 
join  me,  I  can  carry  it ;  but  without  aid  I  am  apt  to  indulge  in 
a  little  variety.  Knowing  no  helper,  I  declined  any  experi- 
ment. Reading  the  Scriptures,  prayer,  and  preaching  made 
up  the  service.  I  addressed  the  irreligious,  and  pressed  the 
importance  of  immediate  decision  and  personal  conversion. 
The  emotion  of  my  own  spirit  and  sei  iousness  of  my  audience, 
with  the  tears  of  some,  inspired  the  hope  that  eternity  will 
.1  fruit,  as  the  result  of  that  day's  sowing. 

"  We  had  aboard  Governor  Geary  and  his  Secretary,  and  a 
committee  appointed  by  a  public  meeting  in  St.  Louis  to  visit 
Kan  I  report  the  real   state  of  affairs,  with  some  other 

offic:  rnment  and  of  the  Territory.     Of 

cour.-e,  Kansas  and  its  troubles  were  the  topics  of  hourly  con- 
Before   leaving   home,  and   on    the   route,   I    had 

I   all   the  ;   and  outrage,  blood  and  death, 

which  h  published  to  inflame  the  country  and  make 

capita]  for  the  political  speculators.  In  such  a  struggle  I 
rtS  were  not  to  be  relied  on,  and  that 
rumors  grew  as  they  travelled  ;  and  with  a  mind  open  to  re- 
ceive the  truth.  I  listened  to  those  who  claimed  to  know  all 
about  the  soil,  the  people,  the  parties,  the  battles,  the  plans 
for  the  future.  If  I  had  been  perplexed  by  what  I  read,  I  was 
confounded  by  what  I  heard.  The  thread  of  history  became 
more  knotty  and  tangled.  The  nearer  I  came  to  the  scene  of 
action,  the  more  doubtful,  contradictor)-,  and  uncertain  was 
all  I  heard.  The  honest  did  not  know  what  was  true,  and  the 
designing  manufactured  to  order.  There  was  no  limit  to  tales 
but  the  power  of  invention  ;  and  the  public  mind,  excited 
and  exasperated,  was  credulous  to  weakness.  The  most 
fabulous  account  found  ready  listeners  and  believers.  If  I 
had  been  like-minded,  the  Kansas  Mission  Conference  would 
not  have  met,  or  at  least  would  have  been  without  a  bishop. 


1856.]  ufe  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  279 

"  One  man,  who  seemed  to  know  everybody  out  there,  and 
to  be  posted  in  the  history  of  the  past  and  the  prophecy  of  the 
future,  besought  me  most  earnestly  not  to  put  my  foot  ashore ; 
said  the  idea  of  holding  a  Conference  anywhere  in  the  Terri- 
tory was  an  absurdity — downright  madness — an  utter  im- 
possibility ;  that  my  life  would  be  in  danger  every  step  I  took; 
and  this  he  said  with  emphasis,  for  he  verily  believed  it. 
When  I  told  him  my  route  and  plan  of  travel,  he  pronounced 
it  the  very  worst  I  could  take  ;  he  knew  every  foot  of  it ;  there 
was  more  timber,  deeper,  darker  thickets  than  anywhere  else, 
and  in  his  imagination  there  was  a  rifle  and  a  marauder  be- 
hind every  bush.  I  said  to  him,  '  My  friend,  you  are  scared, 
excited.' 

"  'No,  sir,  I  speak  the  truth;  and  if  you  go  on,  you  will 
find  it  as  I  tell  you.  You  are  not  safe,  except  with  a  large 
company,  well  armed.' 

"  '  Very  well,  I  shall  try  it  without  company  save  my  little 
nephew,  and  without  gun,  or  pistol,  or  knife.' 

"  With  a  look  which  seemed  to  say,  '  You  are  a  fool,'  he 
said  he  had  given  me  '  fair  warning  in  kindness  and  truth. 
You  can  go,  but  you  will  hold  no  Conference,  and  most  likely 
will  never  see  home  again.'  When  the  time  came  for  us  to  part, 
he  bade  me  farewell  very  kindly  and  renewed  his  admonition. 

"Governor  Geary  is  a  tall,  good-looking  man,  without 
any  very  striking  feature,  of  easy  manners,  pleasant  in  con- 
versation, and  he  seemed  to  have  very  just  views  of  his 
duties  and  responsibilities.  He  impressed  me  very  favorably. 
At  several  towns  on  the  river,  as  we  ascended,  he  was  called 
out  to  make  a  speech,  and  essayed  the  task,  but  did  not  suc- 
ceed very  well.  His  talent  does  not  run  that  way.  He  is  a 
man  of  plain,  strong  common  sense  ;  talks  fluently  and  intel- 
ligently ;  has  travelled,  held  office,  is  decided,  has  a  strong 
will,  thinks  for  himself,  and  will  command  respect  and  main- 
tain authority  anywhere.  His  appointment  was  opportune  ; 
and  if  he  had  been  the  first  governor  instead  of  the  last,  less 
blood  would  have  been  shed,  and  the  '  freedom-shriekers' 
would  have  had  more  patriotic  employment. 


280  Life  an  J  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  [C&at.XL 

"  When  we  reached  Glasgow,  we  found  a  boat  at  the  land- 
ing and  a  crowd  upon  the  bluff.  Governor  Shannon  was  in 
the  boat,  returning  from  Kansas.  Governor  Geary  sent  for 
him.  They  had  an  interview,  and  Governor  Shannon's  re- 
port was  indeed  alarming,  if  it  had  not  been  apparent  that  he 
himself  was  panic-stricken.  He  had  tried  to  conciliate  when 
he  ought  to  have  punished — to  harmonize  belligerent  factions 
when  he  ought  to  have  stood  firmly  upon  the  law — until  the  " 
elements  of  strife  waxed  into  war,  and  he,  powerless  and  with- 
out authority  or  influence,  was  driven  from  his  post.  He  in- 
formed Governor  Geary  that  every  road  in  his  Territory  was 
Strewed  with  the  dying  and  the  dead  ;  and  his  opinion  seemed 
to  be  that  there  could  be  no  arbiter  but  the  sword,  and  no 
peace  but  by  the  annihilation  of  one  of  the  parties.  A  man 
of  peace,  he  was  not  fitted  for  the  emergency.  All — friends 
and  foes — agree  that  he  desired  to  do  his  duty,  but  lacked 
nerve  for  the  crisis. 

"Here  a   company   of   Missourians   came  on  our  boat,  f« 
for    Kansas    and    the    war.        They    were    armed    for 

liter  — guns  in  their  hands,  pistols  by  their  sides,  bowie- 
knives  in  their  bosoms.  With  courage  equal  to  their  re- 
sources, they  would  have  made  a  desperate  fight.     Having 

many  hard  things  of  the  '  Border  Ruffians,'  I  determined 
to  mingle  with  them,  get  their  ideas,  learn  their  spirit,  and 
find  out  what  manner  of  men  they  were.  Let  me  premise 
this  company  of  near  a  hundred  men  were  a  fair  specimen  of 
those  wh<>  have  gone  from  Missouri  to  take  part  in  the  tcrri- 
.1  strife.  They  were  generally  plain,  humble,  honest 
farmers,  or  young  men  from  the  country,  called  out,  as  they 
thought,  by  a  great  public  necessity.  They  were  not  ad- 
venturers, seeking  land  or  notoriety.  Much  less  were  they 
propagandists,  seeking  to  force  an  obnoxious  institution  upon 
an  unwilling  people.  They  proclaimed  themselves  the  friends 
of  law  and  order,  offered  their  services  to  Governor  Geary  in 
upholding  legitimate  authority,  and  declared  they  would  not 
fire  a  gun,  nor  strike  a  blow,  save  under  the  order  of  those 
whose  business  it  was  to  command.     On  a  crowded  boat,  with 


1836.]  Ufe  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  281 

everything  in  the  hourly  tidings  from  Kansas  to  excite  them, 
they  behaved  themselves  with  propriety.  They  were  quiet, 
polite,  orderly.  There  was  no  drunkenness,  no  obscenity,  no 
ribald  song,  no  profanity.  Governor  Geary,  who  had  cer- 
tainly thought  that  the  name  '  Border  Ruffian  '  was  descript- 
ive— at  least  meant  something  not  very  complimentary  to 
character,  manners,  or  spirit — expressed  himself  to  me  as  sur- 
prised and  gratified  with  what  he  saw  and  heard.  He  felt  that 
his  work  would  be  easier,  his  difficulties  less  than  he  had  ex- 
pected. It  could  not  be  much  of  a  task  to  govern  such  men. 
Further  observation  confirmed  the  good  opinion  I  formed  of 
them,  and  satisfied  me  that,  whatever  may  have  been  the  out- 
rages of  individual  desperadoes,  the  organized  bands  of  Mis- 
souri had  been  grossly  slandered,  both  as  to  their  intentions 
and  their  acts.  Exasperated  by  numberless  provocations, 
some  imprudences  were  committed,  I  doubt  not ;  but  after 
acquainting  myself  on  the  spot  with  the  opinions  and  temper 
and  wishes  of  her  people,  if  Missouri  needed  an  advocate  be- 
fore the  country,  I  would  volunteer  in  her  defence.  The  truth 
of  history  will  be  her  vindication  and  her  eulogy. 

"  As  far  as  I  can,  without  mixing  myself  with  parties  and 
politics,  in  the  progress  of  these  letters  I  shall  give  a  faithful 
account  of  what  I  saw,  heard,  and  thought  in  this  disputed 
territory.  Very  likely,  it  will  appear  that  if  the  South  loses 
Kansas,  she  will  be  more  to  blame  than  those  (with  all 
their  faults — I  may  add  crimes)  who  have  warred  upon  her 
institutions. 

"Some  time  after  midnight  we  reached  Kansas  City,  a 
thrifty  town  near  the  mouth  of  Kansas  River,  but  in  the  State 
of  Missouri.  Here  the  volunteers  also  landed,  and  immedi- 
ately set  about,  their  preparations  for  marching  in  the  morn- 
ing. George  and  I  retreated  to  the  hotel,  and,  after  long 
delay,  succeeded  in  obtaining  a  bed. 

"  The  site  of  Kansas  City  is  about  the  last  place  where  a 
common  man  would  have  thought  of  locating  a  city.  Per- 
pendicular hills,  hills  oval,  hills  ragged,  long  slopes,  abrupt 
ascents,  with  ravines  and  gorges,  deep  or  yawning  wide  in 


282  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  [Chap.  XL 

wild  confusion — all  seemed  to  forbid  housebuilding  there- 
about. But  it  is  a  good  point  for  trade  ;  and  so  Mammon — 
or  Anglo-Saxon  energy,  or  American  enterprise,  just  as  you 
please — has  dug  and  levelled  and  built.  The  houses  fronting 
the  river  are  reared  against  the  bluff,  with  its  summit  far 
above  the  roofs  ;  and  in  the  rear  end,  and  even  in  the  third 
story,  you  have  the  earthy  odor  peculiar  to  a  newly-dug  cel- 
lar. Yet,  with  all  its  n/>s  and  dozens,  trade  flourishes,  and 
the  city 

"  Retiring  just  before  day,  we  slept  till  breakfast.  Soon 
after,  the  hack,  which  runs  daily  to  Westport.  called  at  the 
door  f  :  .ers.     We   took   our   seats,  and    departed    to 

run  the  gauntlet  of  which  my  steamboat  friend  had  notified 
me.  Not  so  much  from  courage  as  from  downright  unbelief, 
we  rode  along  with  perfect  composure,  making  observations 
on  men  and  thi;  -neral.     The  country  is  broken,  but 

rich  and  heavily  timbered  ;  the  soil  deep,  dark,  and  capable 
of  producing  .my  agricultural  product  adapted  to  the  climate. 
The  cattle  — of  the  finest  stock  and  the  best  of  their  kind — 
keep  fat  on   blu  and  clover,  and,  compared   with   our 

ithern  runts,  make  a  Southern  man  feel  like  coming  home 
and  slaying  Ynspony  herds. 

••  The  settlement  of  Kansas,  the  emigration  and  the  im- 
migration, soldier-  and  traveller-,  have  made  a  harvest  for 
the  dwellers  on  the  wayside.  On  this  day  everything  seemed 
to  be  astir.  Equestrians  and  pedestrians  lined  the  road,  and 
the  counter-currents  indicated  that  the  points  of  attraction 
were  very  different.  Some  were  fleeing  from  strife,  others 
rushing  into  it.  The  signs  of  something  afoot  grew  thicker 
a-  we  approached  Westport,  and  on  our  arrival  we  found  the 
streets  full  and  all  in  motion  :  market-carts,  camp-wagons, 
soldiers,  citizens,  oxen,  horses,  white  people,  Indians — a 
motley  group,  a  mixed  crowd.  The  men  were  looking  and 
talking  in  groups  as  if  there  were  some  grave  business  on 
hand.  An  entire  stranger,  I  walked  about  and  mused  upon 
the  scene  before  me.  Presently  a  man  in  camp-costume,  and 
armed  (as  an   old  acquaintance   of  mine   used  to  say)  '  in  a 


1856.]  nfe  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  283 

cap-a-pie  point  of  view,'  stepped  up,  and,  to  my  surprise, 
called  me  by  name,  and  said  :  '  What  are  you  doing  here  ? 
You  are  the  last  man  I  expected  to  see  in  this  country.'  I 
told  him  my  business,  and  he  too  thought  I  had  as  well  go 
home  :  it  was  no  time  for  preaching  or  Conference.  As  soon 
as  I  could  rectify  my  vision,  despite  the  slouched  hat,  the 
unshaved  face,  the  gray  flannel  shirt,  and  the  odd  accoutre- 
ments of  an  impromptu  knight,  I  recognized  a  former  student 
of  Emory  College.  It  was  quite  refreshing  to  talk  with  him, 
as  he  seemed  well  informed  of  men  and  events. 

"  George  was  grievously  insulted  by  a  company  of  Young 
Americans  who  inquired  of  him  if  we  were  not  Yankees  and 
abolitionists.  Their  suspicions  were  awakened  by  the  color 
of  his  travelling-bag.  I  found  afterward  that  a  black  travel- 
ling-bag was  considered  as  a  type  and  token  of  the  region 
from  which  a  man  comes — in  fact,  the  badge  of  a  New 
Englander.  The  recruits  sent  out  by  the  '  Emigrant  Aid 
Society'  were  furnished  with  these  articles,  I  guess,  because 
they  were  cheap,  and  not  because  the  color  symbolized  their 
sentiments  and  their  mission.  No  matter  how  it  came  to 
pass,  a  black  satchel  furnishes  a  violent  presumption  against 
a  man  with  one  of  the  parties. 

"After  a  while,  I  found  Brother  Johnson,  the  super- 
intendent of  the  Shawnee  Mission  ;  and  as  soon  as  he  could 
arrange  for  it,  we  set  out  for  his  hospitable  mansion.  At 
Westport  we  were  still  in  Missouri,  though  near  the  Kansas 
line.  This  is  a  flourishing  town — trades  largely  with  the 
whites  and  Indians,  and  is  one  of  the  points  of  departure  for 
the  Sante  Fe  mail,  and  for  trade  in  '  the  Plains  '  in  the  far, 
far  West. 

"  From  this  busy  town  it  is  two  or  three  miles  to  where 
Brother  Johnson  lives.  For  a  mile  or  two  we  journeyed 
along  the  road  leading  to  the  camp,  where  the  army  had 
been  appointed  to  rendezvous.  Presently  we  overtook  a 
'  solitary  horseman,'  as  James  would  say  ;  that  is,  he  was 
alone,  though  many  more  were  in  sight,  behind  and  before. 
As  we  approached  him,  the  young   man  who  was  driving 


284  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  [Chap.  XL 

asked  me  if  I  ever  saw  a  Sharpe's  rifle.  I  told  him  I  never 
did.  '  That  man,'  said  he,  '  has  one  ;  if  you  would  like  to 
see  it,  I  will  ask  him  for  it.'  Signifying  my  desire  to  see  that 
far-famed  instrument,  he  called  the  horseman  by  name,  and 
told  him  I  wished  to  see  his  gun.  He  rode  up  and  handed 
it  to  me,  coolly  remarking  that  a  few  days  ago  he  had  killed 
a  man  with  it  at  three  hundred  yards.  The  driver. confirmed 
the  statement  by  adding,  '  I  saw  him  do  it.'  This  deed  was 
performed  at  the  battle  of  Osawattamie.  The  rifle  is  short 
and  very  heavy,  but  cannot  be  shot  with  accuracy,  except  at 
a  very  long  range.  Indeed,  I  was  told  that  the)'  were  more 
to  be  dreaded  at  a  half-mile  distance  than  a  hundred  yards. 
This  is  a  pretty  tough  yarn,  but  is  commonly  reported. 

"  Wc  soon  reached  the  Mission  House,  dined,  and  spent 
the  afternoon  in  conversation,  reading  the  papers,  and  resting. 
The  school  for  the  Indian  boys  and  girls  was  just  reopened, 
after  a  brief  vacation,  and  but  few  had  as  yet  returned. 
night  of  sound  repose  Brother  Johnson  brought  out 
his  well-fed  steeds  and  we  rode  over  the  finest  farm  I  think  I 
ever  saw.  Such  a  combination  of  water,  timber,  prairie,  and 
soil,  i-  rarely  met  with.  Such  a  herd  of  cattle  !  O,  the  milk, 
md  beef!  This  is  the  very  country  for  a  lazy  man,  if 
he  is  not  too  la/;.   I  vide  in  summer  for  winter.     A  four 

months'  diligence  will  secure  the  material  wherewithal  to 
purchase  the  privilege  of  shutting  himself  up  to  eat,  sleep, 
and  toast  the  rest  of  the  year. 

"  After  dinner,  the  carriage  and  the  mules — which  were 
mules,    not   in   temper  but   in  size — were   brought  out,   and 

:hcr  Johnson  and  his  wife,  and  George  and  I,  took  our 
seats  for  an  evening  jaunt  upon  the  prairies.  First,  we  visited 
the  missionary,  Brother  Bolles.  After  a  pleasant  interview 
with  himself  and  family,  wc  returned,  passing  by  the  Mission 
church  and  the  Shawnee  Camp  ground.  Here  these  once 
wild  men  meet  to  sing  and  pray,  and  hear  the  Gospel.  How 
obstinate  the  unbelief  of  the  world  and  the  Church  about  the 
conversion  of  the  Indians  !  Admit  all  the  difficulties  ;  what 
then  ?     Must  the)-  be  cast  off,  as  though  never  included  in 


1850.]  Hfe  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  285 

the  covenant  of  redemption  ?  Go  preach  the  Gospel  to  every 
creature — except  the  Indians  ;  is  that  the  reading  ?  No,  no. 
Let  the  Church  sow  beside  all  waters,  and  trust  the  *  Hus- 
bandman '  for  the  harvest. 

"We  passed  the  Quaker  Mission,  and  found  the  premises 
abandoned,  under  a  threat  of  Lane's  men  to  attack  and  burn 
the  houses.     I  understood  the  property  would  be  for  sale. 

"  It  was  our  purpose,  in  the  course  of  the  ride,  to  visit 
the  camp  of  the  army,  and  when  we  learned  its  location,  we 
steered  for  that  point.  By  and  by  we  came  in  sight  of  the 
encampment ;  and,  verily,  it  was  a  sight  to  a  green  one,  who 
had  never  seen  '  war's  grim  array.'  The  tents  were  pitched 
on  the  slope  of  an  open  prairie,  beside  a  little  stream  running 
at  its  base.  As  we  rolled  along  on  the  ridge,  the  whole  pan- 
orama was  visible.  A  thousand  horses  or  more,  of  all  sizes, 
colors,  and  conditions,  were  '  staked  out,'  and  left  to  graze. 
This  staking  out  is  a  very  simple  and  convenient  arrange- 
ment. A  rope,  from  thirty  to  fifty  feet  long,  is  tied  around 
the  horse's  neck,  and  at  the  other  end  is  a  pin  of  iron  or 
wood,  which  is  driven  into  the  ground,  and  the  horse  can 
crop  the  grass  within  a  circle,  of  which  the  pin  is  the  centre 
and  the  rope  the  radius — where  the  grass  is  good — ample 
scope  for  a  night's  feasting. 

"  The  army  was  computed  to  muster  twenty-seven  hun- 
dred men  ;  but  they  were  not  yet  all  come  in.  The  chiefs 
were  waiting  to  concentrate  the  '  host,'  before  the  descent 
upon  Lawrence.  As  we  drew  near,  some  were  manceuvering 
an  old  cannon  ;  some  were  cooking,  some  lounging  in  the 
grass,  some  inspecting  their  weapons.  On  reaching  the  line 
of  encampment,  a  soldierly-looking  man  very  gravely  ordered 
us  to  halt,  and  give  the  password.  We  confessed  our  igno- 
rance. He  expressed  his  regret  at  having  to  stop  us,  but  said 
he  must  obey  orders.  Just  as  we  were  despairing  of  entrance, 
my  quondam  friend  of  the  gray  flannel  shirt  came  to  our 
rescue.  Being  a  man  in  authority,  the  sentinel  bowed, 
dropped  his  gun,  and  we  had  the  freedom  of  the  camp. 
Here   I   was  introduced  to   Generals  Atchison,  Clarke  and 


286  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  t('im'  x[- 

others,  Colonel  Titus,  Sheriff  Jones — still  lame  from  his 
wounds — with  other  notabilities.  They  talked  calmly  of  the 
wrongs  of  the  Territory,  of  the  outrages  upon  unoffending 
citizens,  and  of  the  necessity  laid  upon  them  to  expel,  by  ball 
and  bayonet,  the  perpetrators  of  these  lawless  deeds.  While 
I  was  present,  a  woman  of  decent  appearance  came  in  and 
made  affidavit  that  the  night  before,  five  men,  all  disguised, 
came  to  her  habitation,  roused  her  from  sleep,  ordered  her 
out,  and  burnt  the  house,  with  all  its  contents  She  named 
two  or  three,  whom  she  said  she  recognized  by  their  voices. 
At  the  sound  of  their  names,  I  could  hear  low  murmurs  of 
vengeance  from  some  of  the  men  around.  They  were  well 
known,  it  seemed,  and  were  famed  for  violence  and  the 
plunder  of  the  weak. 

"  We  tarried  but  a  short  time,  as  I  was  anxious  to  extend 
my  ride  into  the  prairies.  On  retiring,  we  ascended  a  long 
hill,  and  on  reaching  its  summit  and  looking  back,  the  scene 
was  very  picturesque.  Forget  the  facts  and  circumstances 
which  convened  those  men,  and  the  object  they  had  in  view, 
and  there  was  much  of  the  beautiful  in  the  vision  before  me. 
The  white  tents,  the  parti-colored  costumes,  red  and  gray 
predominating;  the  tethered  horses,  the  patient  oxen,  half 
buried  in  grass;  life  in  various  form-,  all  eager  and  in  mo- 
tion ;  the  softened  hum  of  the  camp,  as  it  came  floating  on 
the  prairie  wind — all  made  a  life-picture,  to  copy  which  would 
make  an  artist's  fortune.  We  turned  our  eyes  away  to  look 
•\  more  quiet  scenes,  the  rolling  prairies,  the  yellow 
the  waving  grass  and  the  silent  sky. 
"  Prom  what  I  heard  and  from  all  I  saw,  I  must  say  that 
Kansas  is  a  beautiful  country.  As  to  land,  verdure,  and  cli- 
mate, I  saw  it  under  very  favorable  circumstances.  The  cold 
in  winter  is  terrible.  In  September,  the  thermometer  was 
nearly  up  to  ninety.  The  weather,  though  extremely  cold 
sometime-,  is  variable,  and  often  very  warm  in  autumn.  We 
closed  a  pleasant  ride  near  sunset,  and  found  that  one  of  the 
preachers  (Brother  Rice),  had  arrived  during  our  absence. 
He  was  on  his  way  to  Conference. 


1S56-]  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  287 

"  On  Wednesdaj',  the  ioth  of  September,  before  leaving 
for  the  seat  of  the  Conference,  I  preached  in  the  chapel  at 
the  Mission  to  the  few  Indian  boys  and  girls  who  had  returned 
to  school,  the  teachers,  and  a  few  others.  Returning  through 
Westport,  we  reached  Kansas  City,  and  spent  the  night, 
waiting  for  a  boat.  Just  before  day  the  Emigrant  came 
along  ;  we  went  aboard,  and  in  the  afternoon  reached  Kicka- 
poo.  On  our  arrival,  we  found  the  place  almost  deserted. 
The  women  and  children  had  wellnigh  all  fled.  Most  of 
the  men  had  gone  to  join  the  army  ;  a  dozen  or  so  '  abode 
by  the  stuff.'  Some  two  or  three  troopers  lingered  about  the 
'grocery,'  seemingly  loath  to  leave  its  liquid  attractions. 
The  chance  for  Conference  looked  forlorn.  We  were  invited 
and  urged  to  go  to  Weston,  in  Missouri,  but  declined,  deter- 
mined to  avoid  the  very  appearance  of  fear.  With  two  or 
three  others,  I  was  assigned  to  the  hotel.  The  house  was 
set  upon  a  hill  so  high,  and  the  ascent  so  steep,  that,  on  reach- 
ing it,  a  man  felt  that  if  he  had  to  return,  he  had  rather  not 
go  down.  I  pitied  the  poor  beasts  of  burden  about  Kickapoo. 
Verily,  they  had  a  hard  time  of  it. 

"  Like  all  the  towns  on  the  Missouri  River,  Kickapoo  is 
built  on  hills  of  very  great  elevation,  and  the  ravines  are 
deep  and  circuitous.  The  plan  of  the  town  covers  a  consider- 
able area,  extending  from  the  hill's  to  the  prairie  ;  itself,  how- 
ever, rolling  and  broken. 

"  The  only  incident  worth  recording  during  my  stay 
there  occurred  the  first  night.  Retiring  early,  I  had  slept 
an  hour  or  two,  when  I  was  roused  by  four  or  five  reports  of 
a  gun,  seemingly  near  a  mile  distant.  Presently  the  sound  of 
horse-hoofs,  at  full  speed,  broke  upon  the  ear,  and  came  nearer 
and  nearer.  Now  the  rider  descends  the  long  hill  in  front  of 
the  hotel,  and  now  he  comes  up,  and  pauses  at  the  door.  In 
tones  of  alarm,  and  as  if  the  emergency  were  very  great,  he 
called  up  some  acquaintance,  and  told,  in  a  subdued  voice, 
some  startling  story.  Soon  all  below  stairs  were  up  and 
stirring,  and  guns  were  brought  out  and  loaded  in  haste. 
Then  it  seemed  as  if  all  the  men  about  the  place  were  col- 


Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.         [Cuai-.xi. 

lecting.  I  concluded  to  rise  and  learn  the  cause  of  this  ex- 
citement. Raising  the  window,  I  heard  the  horseman  tell  that 
five  men  attacked  him,  shot  at  him  five  times,  one  ball  passing 
through  his  hat,  grazing  his  skull,  and  throwing  him  from  his 
horse  ;  that  he  rose  from  the  ground  and  recovered  his  horse, 
and  made  his  escape  ;  and  that,  as  he  fled,  he  saw  at  least 
forty  men  skulking  in  the  thicket.  I  heard  him  through,  and 
when  he  repeated  his  story  to  some  new-comer,  I  observed 
several  important  variations,  and  satisfied  myself  that  the 
whole  thing  was  an  arrant  hoax.  I  returned  to  my  bed,  and 
slept  soundly  till  sunrise.  The  citizens,  however,  stood  by 
their  arms  and  kept  watch  all  night. 

"  In  the  morning  it  turned  out  as  I  expected.  The  hero 
of  the  story  had  fired  his  own  revolver,  shot  his  own  hat,  and 
.  trick  upon  the  sleeping  citizens.  The  people,  excited 
by  rumors,  and  harassed  by  the  terror  of  the  times,  were 
credulous,  and  felt  that  their  safety  depended  upon  their  hos- 
tile preparation.  Hence  this  midnight  alarm  opened  their 
tught  out  their  :411ns,  and  set  them  as  watchmen  upon 
ever}-  hill-top.  They  v.  ere  the  more  sensitive,  because*  Lane's 
men  had  come,  a  night  or  t  ,  within  eight  milt 

them,  burnt  a  little  villa  1  the  horses  and    cattle,  and 

driven  the  people  out  of  the  Territory.  The  very  next  day, 
I  think,  nine  families,  plundered  by  these  [shmaelites,  passed 
through  Ki  eeking  rest  and  security  on  the  other  side 

of  the  river. 

"The  I  Terence  met  at  the  appointed  hour — every 
preacher  in  his  place,  save  one  or  two,  whose  location,  in 
the  midst  of  the  depredators,  compelled  them  to  remain  at 
home,  for  the  protection  of  their  families  and  their  property. 
In  this  Mission  Conference  the  chief  business  is  the  appoint- 
ment of  the  preachers.  Everything  was  done  soberly  and  in 
r  ;  and  we  eked  out  the  time  by  organizing  a  Missionary 
Society,  preaching,  and  a  general  talk  on  our  educational 
plans  and  prospects.  On  Saturday  afternoon  we  adjourned, 
in  peace  and  love. 

"  This  little  band  of  brethren  ought  to  enlist  the  prayers 


1856.]  ufe  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  289 

and  sympathies  of  the  whole  Church.  They  deserve  this,  not 
merely  as  pioneers  who  are  opening  a  new  country  for  the 
occupancy  of  the  Church,  but  because  these  examples  of  self- 
denial  and  hardships  are  of  incalculable  value  in  their  reflex 
moral  influence.  To  transfer  from  an  old-established  Confer- 
ence, permanent  society,  good  roads,  luxurious  entertain- 
ment, and  all  the  appliances  of  easy  living  ;  to  go  to  a  new 
country,  wild  and  unsettled  ;  to  take  long  rides  in  search  of 
a  congregation  ;  to  endure  hunger,  cold,  and  nakedness  ;  to 
be  in  perils  oft,  and  fastings  long,  requires  a  strong  faith  and 
unquenchable  zeal  ;  almost,  if  not  quite,  perfect  love  to  God 
and  man.  Such  men  contribute  largely  to  the  vindication  of 
Christianity,  as  a  Divine  system  ;  they  pitch  the  piety  of  the 
Church  upon  a  higher  key,  and,  amid  the  obliteration  of  other 
features  and  the  decay  of  oth&r  bonds,  still  link  us  on  in  like- 
ness and  fellowship  with  the  apostles  of  the  primitive  Church. 
Many  preachers,  who  have  neither  the  manliness  nor  the  piety 
to  do  likewise,  yet  admire  these  Christian  heroes,  and  feel 
the  attractions  of  their  example,  if  not  the  quickening  of  a 
noble  emulation.  To  hear  the  brethren  pray  and  preach,  to 
see  them  '  happy,'  one  might  suppose  they  were  ever  ready 
for  labor  and  sacrifice — to  leave  home,  friends,  all,  for  the 
kingdom  of  heaven's  sake.  But,  alas  for  our  ignoranee  of 
ourselves  !  O  !  the  delusions  that  steal  upon  us,  in  the  guise 
of  prudential  calculations — '  the  fondness  of  a  creature's  love' 
— the  pleadings  of  nature,  interest,  and  common  example. 
The  glorious  sentiments  with  which  these  sacred  orators  rav- 
ished us,  made  music  on  the  air  and  died,  singing  their  own 
requiem  ;  the  lofty  emotions,  which  found  utterance  in  shouts, 
and  vows,  and  promises  of  consecration,  exhausted  themselves 
in  the  raptures  of  the  hour,  leaving  the  Church  defrauded  of 
what  she  had  the  right  to  expect,  and  the  subjects  deluded,  I 
fear,  in  their  estimate  of  their  own  piety. 

"  One  thing  at  least  is  certain  ;   it  is  hard  work  to  get  men 

for  the  foreign  field,  or  for  the  more  distant  missions  in  our 

own  country.     To  say  nothing  now  of  other  regions,  Kansas 

needs  at  least  ten  preachers  to  the  work,  as  now  organized, 

19 


290  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.         [Chap.  XI 

and  ten  more  might  be  usefully  employed.  Where  are  the}-  ? 
Where  f  Why,  almost  anywhere.  Not  a  few  may  be  found 
in  the  crowded  Conferences,  or  on  the  supernumerary  list,  be- 
cause they  could  not  find  work  to  suit  them,  or  because  they 
had  some  '  temporalities  '  to  attend  to,  or  wished  to  travel  for 
pleasure.  In  other  cases,  one  has  gone  to  his  farm,  another 
to  his  merchandise  ;  many  more  are  holding  on  to  some  old 
homestead — working  round  on  a  few  circuits — worn-out  in 
manner  and  matter,  while  yet  they  arc  physically  strong — a 
burden  to  the  Conference,  a  perplexity  to  the  presiding  el- 
ders, and  a  trouble  to  the  Church  and  episcopacy.  A  great 
many  of  the  brethren,  I  apprehend,  do  not  inform  themselves 
of  the  wants  of  the  Church  ;  and  if  they  do,  they  have  been 
so  long  accustomed  to  subordinate  Christ's  claims  to  their 
convenience,  that  they  never  seem  to  think  or  feel  that  these 
calls  for  help  arc  providential,  and  addressed  to  them. 

"  I  need  five  young  men  to-day  for  regular  circuits  in 
Kansas.  I  have  looked  through  four  Conferences  to  find 
them,  and  have  talked  personally  with  preachers  here  and 
there,  and  cannot  get  a  supply.  Making  all  the  allowances 
the  case  calls  for.  this  is  rather  a  reflection  upon  our  preten- 
nomination.      Where  is  the  spirit  of  our  fathers? 

"I  say  'young  men'  are  wanted:  first,  because  they 
would  cost  less  to  the  Missionary  Society  ;  and,  secondly,  be- 
cause the  inconveniences  of  the  country  for  families  arc  for 
the  present  great.     Married    men  with   small   families  would 

be  rejected  ;  though  we  cannot  promise  them  well-furnish- 
ed parsonages,  or  very  comfortable  homes.  Still,  this  class 
of  men  are  there  ;  and  I  heard  no  whinings  about  hardships. 
True,  the  cold  is  extreme,  snow  abundant,  the  winter  long  ; 
but  men  of  the  world  bear  these  evils  for  the  sake  of  land  and 
office.  Hundreds  and  thousands  are  going  there  to  find 
h<uncs  on  rich,  cheap  soil.  Methodists  are  among  them,  and 
they  all  need  the  Gospel.  As  preachers,  our  commission  has 
no  respect  to  latitude  or  climate.  The  command  to  '  Go  '  is 
unqualified  ;  and  the  Discipline  enjoins  that  we  go  where  we 
are  '  needed  most.' 


1856-]  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  291 

"  Who  will  go  to  Kansas?  We  want  no  steel-clad  war- 
riors, but  men  with  '  tongues  of  fire.'  We  want  no  land-hun- 
ters, but  strangers  and  pilgrims,  who  declare  plainly  that  they 
seek  a  country,  even  a  heavenly.  In  the  name  of  the  Church 
we  will  give  'bread  to  eat,  raiment  to  put  on,'  work  to  do, 
and  souls  to  win.  Other  expenses  may  be  charged  to  Him 
who  pledges  '  everlasting  life'  in  the  world  to  come.  Death 
will  come  there  as  well  as  here  ;  but  I  thing  it  is  a  little  nearer 
to  heaven  from  the  field  of  self-denying  labor  than  from  the 
home  of  self-indulging  rest.  And  sure  I  am,  the  prairie  grass 
will  weave  sweeter  memorials  over  your  lonely  grave,  than 
all  the  monuments  art  can  fashion,  or  affection  buy.  In  the 
city  cemetery  or  the  country  churchyard,  human  friends  may 
come  to  weep,  but  about  the  tombs  of  the  pioneer  preacher, 
the  angels  of  God  will  encamp. 

"  Whether  the  contest  in  Kansas  resulted  from  the  desire 
to  occupy  the  best  portions  of  a  rich  Territory,  destined  to 
become  a  populous  State,  or  from  a  Free-soil  mania,  or  slav- 
ery propagandism,  or  from  the  manoeuvres  of  political  dema- 
gogism,  I  shall  not  undertake  to  settle.  Perhaps  all  these 
motives  met  and  mingled,  and  derived  much  of  their  power 
to  do  harm  from  the  rivalries  of  land  companies  and  their 
speculations.  Explain  as  we  may  the  condition  of  things, 
last  summer  and  autumn  it  was  a  reproach  to  our  Govern- 
ment and  people.  The  policy  of  the  North  and  the  South,  in 
sending  armed  bands,  under  the  pretence  of  settlement,  was 
unquestionably  wrong  in  its  inception  and  objects,  and  its 
results  have  been  disastrous.  It  was  a  movement  in  conflict 
with  the  free  operation  of  the  principle  of  the  famous  Kansas- 
Nebraska  Bill,  and  directly  calculated,  perhaps  intended,  to 
bring  on  a  sectional  conflict.  It  is  not  mine  to  sit  in  judg- 
ment on  the  character,  motives,  or  management  of  the  leaders, 
but,  as  might  have  been  expected,  the  large  majority  of  those 
who  went  out  under  the  drilling,  drumming  process,  were 
mere  adventurers,  reckless  of  the  principles  involved,  with- 
out interest  in  the  country  or  its  institutions,  and  unworthy 
representatives  of  the  region  from  which  they  came.     Young, 


Life  an  J  Time's  of  George  F.  Pierce,  trim'  XI 

rash,  and  often  desperate,  of  course  they  were  read)-  for 
strife  and  spoils.  Sometimes  disbanded  for  want  of  funds, 
or  from  the  spirit  of  insubordination,  many  of  these  soldier 
emigrants  became  wandering  desperadoes.  Without  land,  or 
home,  or  occupation,  they  became  a  burden  upon  the  party 
they  went  out  to  aid,  and  a  discredit  to  the  Slate  from  which 
they  came.  With  such  materials,  considering  the  influences 
at  work,  it  was  very  easy  to  furnish  bloody  stories  for  the 
newspapers,  and  to  make  the  lawless  deeds  of  a  few  bad  men 
evidence  against  North  or  South,  as  to  their  spirit  and  inten- 
tions. This  was,  of  course,  BS  unfair  as  to  make  the  rowdies 
of  a  town  the  Standard  forjudging  an  entire  community. 

"  It  is,  however,  beyond  all  controversy  that  the  North,  in 
their  blind  zeal  to  make  Kansas  a  Free  State,  provoked  all 
the  troubles  that  followed,  by  picking  up  and  forwarding  a 
population  to  serve  their  purposes,  and  that  the  Abolition- 
.vcre  the  .  by  their  violence  ami   rebellion,  and 

lawless  intrusions  upon  the  rights  of  others  ;  still,  the  South 
erred  in  imitating  a  bad  example.  She  ought  to  have  sent 
citi.  •  soldiers;  and  to  have  left  these  Abolition  knights 

to  the  law  and  the  troops  of  the  General  Government.  This 
plan  would  have  saved  the  Territory  to  the  South,  and  a 
quiet  bond  fide  emigration  might  do  Not  that  1  think 

the  climate,  soil,  and  productions  favorable  to  slavery  ;  but 
it  might  be  recognized  in  her  Constitution,  when  the  time 
for  her  admission  as  a  State  shall  come  ;  and  there  would  be 
a  enough,  along  with  this,  to  identify  Kansas  with  the 
Southern  States  in  the  councils  of  the  country.  No  physical 
law  bars  the  institution.  //  is  there,  and  there  it  might  re- 
main. Nevertheless,  I  think  the  South  will  lose  it,  by  her 
own  fault  rather  than  by  the  contrivance  of  her  enemies. 

"  I  did  not  travel  in  the  Territory  much,  for  lack  of  time, 
and  because  it  was  not  safe  to  do  so.  The  hazard  of  life  was 
not  great,  but  the  liability  to  loss  of  horse  was  imminent  al- 
most anywhere.  They  did  not  steal  horses,  they  only 
'pressed  them  ;  '  that  is,  being  interpreted,  they  took  them 
without  leave   and  against  your   will.     The   patriots  having 


1856.]  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  293 

gone  at  the  call  of  their  country,  in  a  great  crisis,  of  course, 
concluded  they  were  entitled  to  forage  on  friend  and  foe. 
As  it  is  more  pleasant,  commonly,  to  ride  than  walk,  they 
pressed  horses,  in  stall  and  on  the  road.  I  saw  many  families 
who  had  been  robbed,  burnt  out,  and  driven  off.  This  was 
the  work  of  the  Abolitionists — Lane  and  his  men.  The  Mis- 
sourians  and  the  pro-slavery  men  were  preparing  for  ven- 
geance, and  were  resolved  on  such  a  chastisement  of  these 
freebooters  as  should  result  in  their  expulsion  or  extermina- 
tion. Governor  Geary's  arrival  was  timely — most  opportune. 
War — not  skirmishing — was  at  hand,  and  blood  would  have 
flowed  like  water.  The  pro-slavery  men — the  '  Border  Ruf- 
fians ' — demonstrated  their  love  of  law  and  order,  their  in- 
disposition to  go  beyond  self-protection,  by  quietly  dispers- 
ing at  the  command  of  legitimate  authority,  and  leaving  the 
punishment  of  the  evil-doers  to  the  powers  that  be  ;  while 
the  men  who  embodied  and  represented  Northern  sentiment 
—the  Beecher  Sharpens  Rifle  Tribe — determined  carrying  out 
their  own  nefarious  plans,  rather  than  submit  to  law,  public 
opinion,  and  popular  suffrage  ;  and  finding  that  a  just  and 
firm  administration  was  about  to  be  inaugurated,  fled,  carry- 
ing with  them  the  spoils  of  their  guerilla  warfare. 

"These  facts  explain  the  troubles  in  Kansas,  show  the 
temper  and  designs  of  the  parties,  and  confute  forever  all  the 
partisan  misrepresentations  of  the  Northern  press.  Their 
flight  was  confession,  and  confession  proved  their  previous 
hypocrisy — their  treasonable  betrayal  of  the  peace  of  the 
country.  If  ever  the  secret  history  of  this  '  Kansas  war  ' 
should  be  written,  it  will  appear  that  the  South,  so  far  from 
attempting  to  cheat  the  North,  either  by  fraud  or  force,  has 
been  either  careless  of  her  own  interest,  or  has  confided  too 
much  in  the  justice  of  her  enemies.  It  is  not  the  first  time 
in  the  progress  of  the  world  that  the  wronged  have  been 
charged  with  the  crimes  of  those  who  betrayed  them,  nor 
that  the  offending  party  have  sought  the  sympathy  of  man- 
kind for  persecutions  they  never  endured,  but  only  inflicted. 
Such  is  life,  and  man,  and  history. 


294  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  [Chap,  xl 

"  Having  concluded  the  Conference,  we  crossed  the  river 
to  Weston,  intending  there  to  spend  the  Sabbath.  We  found 
comfortable  quarters  with  the  Rev.  William  G.  Caples,  one 
of  the  preachers  of  the  Missouri  Conference. 

"  In  his  garden  I  saw  the  now  famous  Chinese  sugar- 
cane. If  it  will  grow  elsewhere  as  in  that  place,  I  do  not 
wonder  at  its  rapidly-spreading  reputation.  I  think  the 
stalks  were  fully  seventeen  feet  in  height.  The  field  of  corn, 
however,  by  its  size  attested  great  depth  and  richness  of  soil 
— a  soil  seldom  found,  save  in  the  Platte  country  of  Missouri. 

"  Unless  I  were  very  familiar  with  the  localities,  I  should 
not  like  to  walk  about  Weston  at  night.  Such  hills,  ravines, 
gullies,  precipices,  surely  never  before  were  found  in  the  cor- 
porate limits  of  a  town.  As  you  move  along  the  streets,  the 
houses  look  as  if  they  were  peeping  down  from  their  slippery 
altitudes  upon  the  transactions  of  the  lower  world,  and  one, 
unused  to  see  human  habitations  so  exalted,  feels  almost 
afraid  that,  in  their  curiosity,  they  will  lean  a  little  too  far 
and  will  come  down  with  a  crash.  Vast  sums  arc  annually 
expended  in  repairing  the  streets  and  keeping  up  bridges  ; 
and  very  often,  when  the  work  is  finished,  the  next  rain 
sweeps  thousands  away,  and  the  repairers  of  breaches  are 
called  upon  for  new  plans  and  fresh  labors.  Despite  physical 
incongruities,  the  place  prospers.  The  people  are  intelligent, 
enterprising,   and  well-to-do  in  the  world.     There  is  here  a 

.1  School  connected  with  the  Conference,  and  well  pat- 
ron i/ 

"In  the  West  the  common  impression  of  its  future  great- 
ness is  embodied  in  the  names,  prophetic  of  future  develop- 
ment, I  suppose,  for  they  are  certainly  not  justified  by  pres- 
ent appearances.  Most  of  the  little  villages,  albeit  there  is 
nothing  to  mark  them,  save  a  wooden  warehouse  and  a  few 
small  houses  round  about,  are  dignified  with  the  title  '  City.' 
We  have  along  the  river  above  Independence,  Kansas  City 
— Delaware  City — Leavenworth  City — Platte  City.  The 
name,  perhaps,  helps  the  sale  of  lots,  attracts  population,  and 
may  be  a  trick  of  speculators — a  plan  to  raise  stocks,  yet  I 


is56]  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  295 

can  but  regard  it  as  one  of  the  signs  of  what  all  regard  as  the 
'manifest  destiny  '  of  the  country.  Nor  is  this  idea  a  figment 
of  fancy.  A  few  years  ago,  and  Fort  Independence  was  the 
extreme  verge  of  American  civilization,  and  we  were  accus- 
tomed to  regard  a  man  who  had  been  there  as  a  bold  advent- 
urer. All  beyond  was  wilderness,  the  range  of  wild  beasts 
and  savage  men.  Now,  someone  reports  that  Fort  Laramie, 
four  hundred  miles  beyond  Leavenworth,  is  the  geographical 
centre  of  the  United  States  and  Territories.  The  trade  from 
Leavenworth  to  Santa  Fe  is  immense.  One  man,  I  learned, 
has  twelve  thousand  oxen  on  the  line,  and,  in  the  transport  of 
merchandise  and  military  stores,  finds  use  for  them  all.  The 
tide  of  population  stills  rolls  on,  and,  if  life  endures,  I  expect 
to  hold  Conference  in  Santa  Fe,  and  to  ride  on  a  railroad 
where  the  trail  of  the  buffalo  is  now  to  be  seen.  Let  the 
Americans  push  on,  subdue  the  earth,  and  replenish  it. 

"  In  the  mean  time,  I  must  pursue  my  travels.  Tuesday 
morning,  the  16th  of  September,  we  left  Weston  for  the  seat 
of  the  Missouri  Conference.  Brother  Caples  had  the  kind- 
ness to  take  us  in  his  buggy,  with  a  pair  of  horses  just  such 
as  a  travelling  preacher  ought  to  have.  Indeed,  I  found  him 
so  well  fitted  for  getting  about,  that  I  appointed  him  an  agent 
for  Central  College.  It  is  due  to  him  to  say  that  he  had 
other  and  peculiar  qualifications  besides  his  equipage.  I 
love,  however,  to  see  the  brethren  well  mounted.  To  itiner- 
ate is  their  business,  and  they  ought  to  fix  for  it.  I  mean  no 
reflection,  but  simply  to  state  a  fact  ;  those  preachers  do  best, 
generally,  who  have  little  beside  their  '  travelling  apparatus.' 
Wealth  is  a  fearful  snare  to  a  minister  of  the  gospel.  It  is  a 
miasm,  out  of  which  comes  a  host  of  diseases.  Strong  men 
grow  delicate,  young  ones  supperannuate,  single  ones  need 
nurses,  and  married  ones  become  too  affectionate  to  leave 
home.  Still,  let  the  preacher  have  a  good  horse — if  need  be, 
a  pair — and,  if  it  suit  him  best  to  ride  on  wheels,  a  carriage 
of  some*  sort.  Then  air,  exercise,  and  diet  for  his  body, 
reading,  praying,  preaching  for  his  soul,  and  he  is  likely  to 
become  an  '  acceptable '  preacher. 


296  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.         &***.  xi 

"We  passed  through  a  very  broken  and  fertile  country 
during  the  first  day's  ride.  Never  before  did  I  sec  a  region 
where  the  hill-tops  were  as  rich  as  the  valleys.  We  reached 
Brother  Sollot's  about  sundown,  and  met  a  hearty  welcome 
and  cheerful  entertainment.  Next  day  we  passed  through 
Liberty,  a  thriving  town,  and  in  the  evening  reached  Rich- 
mond just  as  a  furious  Storm  of  wind,  hail,  and  rain  came  on. 
A  hospitable  roof  furnished  us  a  safe  retreat  from  its  pitiless 
peltings.  The  darkness  and  rain  prevented  preaching.  On 
the  following  day  we  set  cut  earl}-,  with  the  hope  of  reach- 
ing Brunswick  by  dark.  We  rode  wellnigh  all  day  through 
a  very  rich  prairie  region,  and  saw  Large  farms  well  cultivated. 
We  (.lined  with  a  Mr.  Turner,  and  found  him  and  his  family 
very  anxious  for  a  preacher  to  be  sent  to  their  neighborhood  ; 
promised  to  send  one,  if  possible.  How  main-  places,  just 
outside  of  the  regular  circuits,  might  be  taken  in  and  regu- 
larly served,  if  we  had  the  spirit  of  our  fathers  !  In  the  old 
Conferei  well  as   in  the   new,   there  is   many   a    waste 

place,  when  re  left  to  perish,  just  because  the  preacher 

lacks  zeal  to  add  one  more  appointment  to  his  large  work  of 
four  or  five.     This  fact  demands  the  rigid  scrutiny  of  the 

Church.      There  is  a  fearful  wrong  somewhere. 

"In  the  afternoon  we  passed  through  one  of  the  finest 
prairies  I  have  ever  seen,  and  through  its  bosom  there  rolled 
a  limpid  stream  in  quiet  beaut)'.  The  green  banks  and  the 
crystal  waters  were  lovely  to  the  eye,  ami,  while  the}-  give  a 
charm  to  the  scenery,  are  in  fact  a  neighborhood  convenience. 
This  stream  is  of  considerable  depth,  is  fed  by  never-failing 
springs,  abounds  in  fish,  and,  doubtless,  is  the  summer  resort 
of  all  the  *  fashionable  cattle  in  that  region.  It  may  be  that 
humbler  stock  seek  refreshment  from  its  bright  waters. 

"  As  the  evening  shades  came  on,  we  found,  on  inquiry, 
that  we  had  missed  our  way  ;   so,  turning  round,  [ht  a 

resting  place,  lest  night  should  catch  us  wandering  about,  not 
knowing  whither  we  went.  We  found  a  farm-house  shortly  ; 
and  when  the  proprietor  came  out  on  our  call,  he  recognized 
Brother  Caples,  and  bade  us  welcome.      Our  host  and  family 


18~>G-1  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  297 

were  Methodists,  and  seemed  to  regard  our  misfortune  in 
losing  the  way  as  a  favor  of  Providence  to  them. 

"  In  passing  through  this  portion  of  Missouri,  the  traveller 
occasionally  sees  a  shanty  without  an  inhabitant,  and  in  other 
places  a  pile  of  lumber  and  an  acre  or  two  of  ploughed 
ground.  What  do  these  signs  signify?  They  mean,  in  my 
opinion,  an  egregious  trifling  with  conscience  and  the  law  of 
the  land.  Under  the  '  Graduation  Bill,'  these  lands  are  in 
market  to  settlers  at  a  bit  (twelve  and  a  half  cents)  an  acre. 
Some  men  put  up  these  rude  huts,  plough  a  little,  sleep  on 
the  premises  a  few  nights,  and  then  swear  that  they  are  in 
possession  ;  and  thus  get  land  worth  fifty  dollars  at  a  bit  per 
acre.  In  this  way  the  Government  is  bit,  conscience  is  bit, 
truth  is  bit.  The  first  may  survive  the  wound  ;  how  the  other 
two  will  fare,  the  future  will  declare.  The  American  passion 
for  land  needs  restraint,  or  at  least  regulation. 

"  On  our  route  we  passed  several  villages,  struggling  up 
into  the  dignity  of  towns.  My  appointments  compelled  me 
to  hasten.  I  was  set  down  to  preach  at  Glasgow  on  Friday 
night,  and  to  dedicate  a  church  at  Fayette  on  Sunday.  We 
reached  both  in  due  time,  and  delivered  our  testimony  with 
some  comfort,  and  I  trust  to  profit. 

"  About  these  towns  has  congregated  no  little  wealth  and 
intelligence.  At  Fayette  the  two  Conferences  (Missouri  and 
St.  Louis)  have  located  a  college  ;  indeed,  two  colleges — a 
male  and  a  female  institution — supply  the  citizens  with  the 
means  of  education.  I  trust  the  arrangements  made  during 
the  session  of  the  Conferences  will  succeed  in  establishing 
Central  College  permanently,  and  securing  funds  for  its 
further  efficiency. 

"  Monday  morning,  September  22d,  found  me  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty  miles  from  Louisiana,  the  seat  of  the  Con- 
ference, which  was  to  meet  on  Wednesday  morning.  But, 
thanks  to  Brother  Caples  and  his  noble  team,  on  Tuesday  at 
sunset  we  completed  the  journey.  Monday  night  we  spent 
in  Mexico,  a  new  town  which  has  sprung  up  on  the  line  of 
the  Hannibal  and  St.  Joseph's  Railroad.     It  was  dark  when 


298  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.         V>***>  XL 

we  arrived,  but  the  bell  was  rung,  the  people  met,  and  I 
tried  to  preach. 

"  The  people  of  Missouri,  like  the  people  of  other  States, 
seem  terribly  afflicted  with  barrenness  of  invention  in  naming 
their  cities  and  towns.  This  is  an  American  weakness,  this 
mimicking  of  Europe  and  imitation  of  one  another.  It  makes 
geography  an  enigma  to  beginners,  and  compels  a  man,  in 
talking,  to  as  much  particularity,  if  he  would  be  understood, 
as  you  commonly  find  in  a  legal  document.  If  I  say  I 
preached  in  Glasgow,  in  Paris,  in  Mexico,  and  say  no  more, 
who  will  understand  me?  Some  Babel  Tower  has  certainly 
fallen  among  us  ;   the  confusion  is  great,  and  increasing. 

"  I  found  pleasant  lodgings  with  Brother  Draper  in 
Louisiana — not  the  State,  but  a  nice  town  in  Missouri,  on 
the  Mississippi  River.  The  Conference  session  was  a  session 
of  grace.  Souls  were  converted,  business  was  done  in  a  de- 
votional spirit,  and  the  impression  in  behalf  of  our  church 
interests  was  fine.  The  preachers  are  deeply  religious.  I 
firmed  friendships  there,  delightful  to  memory." 

He  says  littie  of  himself.  Rev.  S.  \V.  Cope  writes  of  him  : 
"  The  forty-first  session  of  the  Missouri  Annual  Confer- 
ence was  held  in  the  town  of  Louisiana,  Tike  Count)-,  Mo.,  in 
September,  I  ;  .  Bishop  Pierce  presiding.  At  that  Confer- 
ence I  saw,  for  the  first  time,  this  great  and  good  man.  I 
was  struck  with  his  personal  appearance,  so  noble,  so  digni- 
fied, so  perfect.  I  thought  then,  and  still  think,  he  was  the 
most  perfect  specimen  of  mankind  I  ever  saw.  He  was  then 
in  the  prime  of  life,  the  picture  of  health  and  happiness.  A 
young  bishop,  he  wore  the  episcopal  honors  meekly,  presid- 
ing with  ease,  dignity,  and  great  force  of  character.  He  was 
a  safe  counsellor,  ready  and  wise  in  his  decisions.  At  one  of 
the  daily  sessions  of  the  Conference,  the  bishop  showed  his 
ready  wit  and  wisdom,  in  answering  a  question,  by  asking 
another.  No  matter  as  to  the  question.  Put  the  answer 
came  quickly,  and  to  the  point.  '  What  does  the  law  say  ? 
Stick  to  the   law,  brother;    stick  to  the  law.'     That  answer 


1856-3  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  299 

bears  fruit  to  this  day.  The  sacredness  of  the  law  has  been 
to  me  more  sacred  ever  since. 

"  The  bishop's  missionary  address,  at  this  Conference, 
was  a  masterly  effort.  I  cannot  reproduce  it.  I  remember 
one  thing  he  said  that  ought  to  be  kept  in  perpetual  mem- 
ory, namely  :  That  the  missionary  work  was  the  most  im- 
portant, as  it  was  the  grandest,  enterprise  amongst  mortals. 

"  His  preaching  was  with  great  power,  and  with  the  Holy 
Ghost  sent  down  from  heaven,  inimitable  and  overpowering. 
An  eminent  lawyer,  moral,  but  not  religious,  who  heard  him 
on  the  Sabbath,  avowed  that  the  hair  of  his  head  stood  on 
end  at  the  close  of  the  sermon,  that  he  had  never  been  so 
strangely  and  powerfully  affected  in  all  his  life  by  the  speech 
of  any  man,  and  he  had  heard  many  great  men  speak.  The 
effect  was  marvellous  on  the  whole  audience. 

"The  Rev.  William  Patton  had  died  this  year.  He  was  a 
veteran  and  leader  amongst  us.  At  the  request  of  the  Con- 
ference, Bishop  Pierce  preached  a  funeral  sermon.  In  it 
were  some  of  the  grandest  utterances  I  ever  heard.  I  would 
be  glad  to  repeat  them,  but  have  lost  nearly  all  but  the 
thought." 

The  bishop  continues  : 

"  The  St.  Louis  Conference  comes  next  in  order.  We 
left  Louisiana  at  night  in  the  Steamer  Keokuk,  a  noble  boat 
with  a  generous  captain.  Soon  after  midnight  the  fog  be- 
came so  dense  that  we  had  to  lie  by  till  nine  o'clock  the  next 
morning.  The  Upper  Mississippi  is  clear,  deep,  beautiful, 
wholly  unlike  itself  after  its  junction  with  the  turbid  Mis- 
souri. 

"  When  we  reached  Alton,  many  of  the  passengers  went 
ashore  to  attend  the  State  Fair  in  Illinois.  The  mornings,  I 
learned,  were  devoted  to  the  exhibition,  and  the  afternoons 
to  political  harangues.  The  multitudes  in  motion  for  the  fair 
grounds  was  a  living  current.  The  great  attraction  was  an 
unexpected  speech  from  Senator  Douglas. 

"  In  due    season  we  reached  St.    Louis,  where  we  pro- 


300  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.         t('"A1,• XI- 

posed  to  rest  a  day  and  spend  the  Sabbath.  Here,  too,  the 
fair  was  coming  on  the  following  week.  The  preparations 
for  it  were  upon  a  magnificent  scale.  The  grounds  and 
buildings  cost  upwards  of  one  hundred  thousand  dollars,  I 
heard.  The  amphitheatre  was  a  model  arrangement  for  such 
an  exhibition.  The  Rev.  R.  A.  Young,  who  accompanied 
me  on  this  visit,  and  who  was  familiar  with  all  the  localities 
of  the  city,  took  me  around,  and  cheered  my  progress  with 
narratives,  anecdotes,  and  brilliant  calculations  of  the  future 
of  this  great  city/. 

u  I  preached  at  First  Church  next  morning,  and  at  Cen- 
tenary at  night.  Methodism  is  growing  in  St.  Louis,  but 
there  is  room  for  indefinite  expansion.  The  Church  ought 
to  keep  in  this  place  a  strong,  effective  force,  and  t<>  expend 
largely  of  her  missionary  treasures  in  carrying  the  Gospel  to 
the  poor  and  the  outcast.  Without  such  aid,  the  polic; 
wellnigh  all  denominations,  in  building  fine  houses  of  wor- 
ship with  rented  scats,  will  leave  the  poor  without  the  Gos- 
pel.     Might  not  our  city  preachers  do  much  by  preaching 

or  more  nights  in  the  week  in  private  houses  or  rented 
rooms,  to  those  who  seldom  or  never  enter  our  regular 
churches  ?  Five  sermons  a  week  is  not  very  hard  work  for 
a  sound  man.  I  have  read  of  one  of  our  American  fathers 
who  preached  fourteen  times  during  his  rest  week.  The 
above  query  is  addressed  to  all  whom  it  may  concern. 

"  On  Monday,  with  some  forty  preachers,  we  left  on  the 
steamboat  Editor  for  Charleston,  the  seat  of  the  St.  Louis 
Conference.  We  reached  Lane's  Landing,  where  we  were 
to  disembark,  earh-  in  the  day,  and  found  every  variety  of 
vehicle  in  waiting  to  convey  us  some  fifteen  miles  to  the  vil- 
lage. The  dust  was  deep  and  light;  an  impalpable,  but,  as 
we  found  before  we  finished  our  journey,  not  an  impondera- 
ble powder.  With  five  or  six  others,  I  was  assigned  to  Judge 
Handy's — a  good  preacher's  home.     We  had  a  pleasant  ses- 

.  but  were  greatly  hindered  in  public  services  by  the 
weather.  The  town  is  in  a  flat  prairie.  —  deep,  rich  soil.  As 
I  have  said,  the  dust  was  terrible  for  two  or  three  days,  and 


i8i>6.]  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  301 

then  came  the  rain,  and  we  literally  waded  in  water.  Still, 
the  kindness  of  the  people,  their  deep  interest  in  all  our  pro- 
ceedings, the  marked  impression  of  our  anniversaries,  preach- 
ing, and  ordinations,  overbalanced  all  our  inconveniences. 
By  the  way,  I  am  thoroughly  persuaded  that  it  is  good  policy 
to  carry  our  Conferences  to  out-of  tJic-way  places.  The  in- 
convenience is  a  trifle  compared  with  the  good  accomplished. 
The  more  the  people,  insiders  and  outsiders,  see  of  Metho- 
dism as  a  system  of  practical  working,  the  better  they  will 
like  it.  An  Annual  Conference  will  impress  any  mind  with 
the  grandeur  of  our  plans  and  the  energy  of  our  operations, 
with  the  Christian  fidelity  of  the  preachers,  their  self-denial, 
their  zeal,  and  the  rigid  scrutiny  to  which  every  interest  is 
subjected.  And  then  the  ministrations  of  so  many  minds,  to 
a  people  unused  to  variety  and  change,  can  but  give  an  im- 
pulse to  thought,  emotion,  and  plan.  In  the  cities,  the  great 
thoroughfares  of  commerce  and  travel,  where  everybody  and 
everything  goes,  we  come  and  go,  and  hardly  leave  a  trace 
behind.  Let  the  Conferences  go  where  they  will  do  most 
good,  without  regard  to  railroads,  rivers,  or  distance  ;  open 
the  doors,  and  let  the  people  come  in,  and  see  and  hear  for 
themselves,  and  they  will  understand  our  economy  better, 
co-operate  with  us  more  cheerfully  and  liberally,  and  be  fur- 
nished, from  personal  knowledge,  with  satisfactory  answers 
to  all  tirades  against  Methodism,  whether  from  the  press  or 
the  pulpit,  books  or  men.  Such  is  my  conviction,  observa- 
tion, and  experience. 

"  On  Wednesday  morning,  the  14th  of  October,  Confer- 
ence having  adjourned  the  night  previous,  we  took  up  the 
line  of  march  for  Ohio  City,  opposite  Cairo.  Buggies, 
barouches,  wagons,  horses,  and  mules  were  in  great  demand, 
and  there  was  no  little  of  the  ludicrous  in  the  appearance  of 
our  company  when  fairly  under  way.  Wit  and  humor  be- 
guiled the  trip  of  its  weariness,  and  turned  the  jolts  and  dis- 
comforts of  the  journey  into  amusements  rather  than  com- 
plaints. By  some  mishap,  we  landed  at  the  river  a  mile  or 
two  above  the  regular  ferry,  and  our  only  chance  to  cross 


302  Life  ami  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.         [Oha*  xi 

was  in  two  little  skiffs,  where  the  river  was  a  mile  wide.  It 
looked  like  very  adventurous  navigation.  We  had  to  go  over 
by  instalments  of  five  or  six  at  a  time.  Withal,  we  had  to 
foot  it  up  the  stream  for  half  a  mile,  to  find  a  point  in  the 
banks  sufficiently  inclined  to  allow  anything  like  a  grave  and 
decent  descent  to  the  water's  edge  When  my  time  arrived, 
I  found  I  had  for  my  companions  the  Publishing  House,  in 
the  person  of  F.  A.  Owen  ;  the  St.  Louis  Advocate,  D.  R. 
McAnally  and  wife  ;  the  Presiding  Eldership  of  the  St.  Louis 
District,  R.  A.  Young  ;  and  a  Doctor  of  Divinity,  C.  B.  Par- 
sons ;  ami  Voting  America,  my  namesake,  George.  Now, 
this  was  a  serious  cargo  for  two  skiffs  of  the  smallest  kind, 
and  both  to  be  rowed  by  one  man.  Brother  Owen  weighs 
two  hundred  and  twenty,  Brother  McAnally  two  hundred 
and  twenty-five,  Brother  Parsons  two  hundred  and  thirty  ; 
the  heft  of  Brother  Young  is  not  great,  but  his  altitude  en- 
ables him  to  look  doiou  upon  most  terrestrial  things.  The 
rest  of  us  were  neither  very  long  nor  very  heavy,  but  we  felt 
that  we  had  as  much  of  real  value  at  stake  as  the  biggest  or 
the  I  Sundry  pieces  of  baggage  were  also  thrown  in. 

ami  when  we  were  all  set,  there  was  no  gunwale  to  brag  of. 
But  we  reached  the  shore  in  safety,  and  felt  thankful  for  our 
deliverance. 

"  '  Each  pleasure  hath  its  poison  too.'  We  were  off  the 
water,  but  on  the  softest,  most  yielding  sand-bed  I  ever  saw. 
It  was  a  mile  ami  a  half  to  Cairo,  and,  afraid  to  leave  my 
trunk,  lest  it  should  be  missing  when  a  boat  came  along,  I 
undertook  with  George's  help  to  carry  it.  He  soon  broke 
down.  Brother  Owen  came  to  my  aid,  and  still  our  progress 
was  slow  and  painful.  Brother  McAnally  overtook  us,  and, 
laughing  at  our  distress,  seized  the  trunk  and  laid  it  upon  his 
shoulder.  I  politely  rebelled  against  this  expensive  kindness, 
but  he  walked  the  faster,  and  made  light  of  such  a  burden. 
Presently  a  cart  came  to  the  rescue,  and  I  privately  thought 
that  Brother  McAnally,  despite  his  strength  and  kindness,  sym- 
pathized with  me  in  my  joy  at  its  arrival.  I  was  certainly  glad, 
for  my  sense  of  obligation  was  growing  heavier  than  my  trunk. 


1856-]  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  303 

"  Cairo  grows  finely,  and  must  be  a  place  in  time  to  come. 
A  fine  hotel  adds  to  its  attractions.  We  had  to  tarry  till 
morning,  waiting  for  a  boat.  The  river  was  low,  and  the 
time  of  running  very  irregular,  so  we  took  the  first  boat  that 
came  along.  Having  a  day  or  two  to  spare,  I  had  resolved 
to  accompany  Brother  Owen  to  the  Memphis  Conference  at 
Jackson.  We  did  not  reach  the  City  of  Memphis  till  Sunday 
noon,  and  concluded  to  lie  over  till  Monday.  I  preached 
twice  on  Sabbath.  We  left  next  day  for  Jackson,  and  on  our 
arrival  found  that  Conference  would  adjourn  early  next  morn- 
ing. So  we  had  travelled  a  hundred  miles  and  more  just  to 
shake  Bishop  Early  by  the  hand,  take  a  look  at  the  Confer- 
ence, and  turn  round  and  go  back.  I  remained  and  tried  to 
preach  at  night  ;  next  day  returned  to  Memphis,  and  left  on 
the  following  day  for  Batesville,  the  seat  of  the  Arkansas 
Conference. 

"  We  reached  Jacksonport  about  the  dawn  of  day,  and 
went  ashore.  In  the  hotel  we  found  a  drinking,  swearing, 
rowdy  crowd.  The  passengers  from  the  boat  at  that  early 
hour  must  have  taken  the  establishment  by  surprise,  or  else 
the  superintendent  is  a  bad  judge  of  the  rule  of  proportion. 
At  any  rate,  the  company  oversized  the  supply  upon  the 
breakfast-table.  My  portion  was  a  half-cup  of  coffee,  so 
called,  and  one  small  potato.  George,  I  believe,  managed  to 
get  two  potatoes,  but  missed  the  coffee — by  no  means  an  in- 
tolerable deprivation. 

"  On  going  out  to  hunt  a  conveyance,  I  met  several  of 
the  preachers,  all  on  their  way  to  Conference.  It  proved  to 
be  one  of  the  days  of  the  tri-weekly  hack,  so  I  engaged  our 
passage.  When  all  was  ready,  we  found  eight  passengers ; 
and  the  utmost  capacity  of  the  coach  would  not  admit  more 
t\\3.nfive.  Being  the  last  who  had  spoken  for  a  seat,  I  con- 
sidered myself  anchored  for  that  day.  I  asked  the  driver 
who  had  precedence.  He  replied,  '  Those  who  get  in  first : 
that's  the  rule  in  this  country.'  Four  of  us  were  in  in  a 
twinkling  ;  and,  with  a  bad  road  ahead,  the  driver  declined 
to  take  any  more. 


301  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierre.  [Chap,  xi. 

"  Along  the  route  of  thirty  miles  to  Batesville,  we  passed 
through  a  section  of  country  which,  because  of  its  great  fer- 
tility, is  called  '  Oil-trough  Bottom.'  If  oil  be  the  type  ot 
richness,  then  is  the  bottom  rightly  named.  But,  despite  the 
soil,  the  drought  cut  short  the  crop.  The  clouds  must  drop 
their  fatness  upon  the  earth,  if  any  land  make  much  of  what 
the  farmers  call  '  truck." 

"  We  reached  Batesville  in  the  afternoon,  and  found 
pleasant  lodgings  with  Judge  Ncely.  The  Conference  session 
was  pleasant  and  profitable.  I  was  very  glad  to  find  a  very 
decided  improvement  in  all  the  financial  interests  of  the 
Church,  and  a  braver  and  more  hopeful  spirit  among  the 
preachers.  They  are  waking  up  to  their  responsibilities,  and 
are  beginning  to  appreciate  the  fact  that  they  are  capable,  by 
the  blessing  of  Heaven,  of  improving  the  Church  and  the 
country.  They  have  a  large  field,  hard  work,  many  trials  ; 
but  they  are  doing  good,  and  the  time  is  not  distant  when 
'  the  little  one  shall  become  a  strong  nation.' 

"  Prom  this  point  to  Princeton,  I  was  to  have  for  my 
travelling-companions  Brothers  Owen  and  Watson.  As  there 
were  but  four  of  us,  we  were  anxious  to  go  in  the  same 
vehicle,  and  deputed  Brother  Watson  to  make  the  necessary 
lie  soon  reported  that  a  contract  was  made 
with  the  stage  which  runs  tri-wcckly  to  Little  Rock,  and 
which  was  t<>  leave  Tuesday  (next  morning),  at  eight  o'clock. 
So  we  lay  down  and  slept,  well  satisfied  with  the  prospect 
before  us.  While  at  breakfast,  the  driver  hailed  us,  and  out 
we  went,  bag  and  baggage. 

"  A  glance  at  the  vehicle  satisfied  me  that  the  day  of 
trouble  had  come.  '  Why,  Watson,  is  this  your  stage  ?  We 
cannot  get  in  it,  much  less  go  in  it.'  '  It  is  not  what  I  ex- 
pected, certainly  ;  but  I  guess  we  can  get  in.'  We  proceeded 
to  put  in  our  trunks,  and  the  fact  was  plain  that  there  was  no 
room  for  the  owners.  The  stage  was  a  carriage  of  the  sort 
that  is  known  in  different  places  by  different  names.  By 
some  it  is  called  '  Jersey  wagon  ;  •'  by  others,  '  pedler's 
wagon,'    '  dearborn,'     '  whimmy-diddle,'     '  go-cart  ;  '    but    I 


1856.]  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  305 

concluded  that  the  inventive  genius  of  Arkansas  had  hit  the 
thing  exactly,  when  I  learned  that  it  was  commonly  called  a 
'  trick.'  That  is  the  right  name,  whether  we  consider  its  size, 
its  shape,  or  its  business.  To  put  such  a  thing  on  the  stage- 
line,  as  a  public  convenience  or  conveyance,  is  most  certainly 
a  trick — an  outrageous,  intolerable  trick.  And  then  this 
trick  was  one  of  the  poorest  tricks.  Old,  shackling,  ready  to 
fall  to  pieces,  it  looked  unsafe  to  sit  in  it  when  it  was  stand- 
ing still.  To  cross  mountains  with  it  was  a  daring  adventure. 
"  After  due  search  for  some  other  trick,  we  found  that 
this  was  our  only  chance,  and  we  submitted  to  our  fate.  It 
was  at  last  determined  to  take  out  the  hind  seat,  and  for  two 
to  sit  on  our  trunks.  This  being  done,  Brother  Watson  and 
I  entered,  and  found,  to  our  dismay,  that  we  could  not  sit 
upright  with  our  hats  on.  It  was  a  damp,  cold,  windy  day  ; 
the  curtains  were,  some  gone,  the  rest  torn  ;  and  as  we  had 
already  bent  our  wills  to  our  circumstances,  so  now  we  bared 
our  brows  to  the  storm.  But  hold — we  are  not  all  in  yet ; 
Young  America  must  not  be  left  behind.  The  Publishing 
House  has  business  at  Princeton,  and  both  must  be  provided 
for.  The  driver  and  the  mails,  too — they  must  go.  Here 
was  a  problem.  The  trick  was  already  full,  and  all  these  to 
come  in.  What  shall  we  do  ?  I  will  tell  how  we  did.  The 
mail-bags  were  put  in  front,  or  rather  in  one  corner,  on  the 
driver's  side  ;  and  when  he  took  his  seat,  his  feet  were  nearly 
as  high  as  his  head.  He  was  a  mathematical  figure  which 
remains  to  be  defined  in  some  future  work  on  Conic  Sections. 
I  straddled  my  trunk,  and  took  in  George  between  my  knees, 
as  though  I  were  on  a  pony,  with  the  stirrups  too  short  and 
my  little  son  in  front.  Brother  Watson  arranged  his  valise 
on  my  left,  and  squeezed  himself  into  that  corner,  and  then 
neither  of  us  could  move  without  the  consent  of  the  other. 
Brother  Owen  was  still  upon  his  feet,  and  looked  as  if  he 
were  meditating  some  desperate  deed.  When  the  word  was 
given,  with  a  groan,  prophetic  of  suffering,  he  proceeded  to 
take  the  last  little  vacancy  ;  and  when  he  settled  himself,  the 
trick  groaned  from  top  to  tire.  All  aboard,  the  body  rested 
20 


30G  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierre.  [Chap.  xi. 

upon  the  axles  ;  and  so  the  absence  of  springs  fixed  us  right 
for  the  hardest  kind  of  jolting.  Confidently  expecting  a 
break-down,  we  rolled  off.  Riding  bareheaded  for  a  mile  or 
more.  I  found  myself  taking  a  violent  cold,  and  concluded  to 
try  another  experiment.  I  tied  my  handkerchief  around  my 
head,  Indian  fashion,  and  drew  my  blanket  over  it ;  and  the 
exhibition  I  made  raised  such  a  laugh  that  pain  and  trouble 
were  lost  in  merriment.  Brother  Owen  would  turn  round  as 
well  as  he  could,  and  a  glimpse  would  last  him  a  mile.  He 
declared  he  meant  to  have  my  picture  for  the  II<>mc  Circle. 
Not  able  to  sit  erect,  I  looked,  in  my  outrJ  '  fixins,'  like  a 
monk  with  his  shaven  pate  and  cowl  stealing  to  his  cell  ;  or  a 
half-frozen  Indian  seeking  refuge  from  the  wintry  blast  ;  or 
the  old  Sheik    H  I  »n    1     id,  ofWady   Mousa   (minus 

the  beard),  who  appears  in  the  last  number  of  Harper 's  Maga- 
zine. 

•'  A   fev  of  my  life's  travel  arc  memorable  to  me. 

The  day  we  left  Batesville  is  one  of  them.  Road  rough, 
broken,  even  mountainous;  cribbed  so  close  together  in  that 
little  trick,  that  we  had  to  get  out  every  few  miles  to 
straighten  and  rest  our  aching  joints  ;  nothing  earthly  could 
have  m  Me,   save  good,  cheerful  companionship. 

The  physical  di  !  of  the  ride  were  numerous  ;  yet  we 

enjoyed  ourselves,  and  all,  doubtless,  remember  it  only  as 
one  of  the  rough  incidents  of  itinerant  life. 

"  A  little  after  dark  we  reached  our  stopping-place.  The 
trick  docs  not  run  at  night.  At  supper  the  hostess  handed  a 
cup  of  coffee  to  one  of  the  company  :  he  passed  it  on  until  it 
reached  George,  who  set  it  down  by  his  plate,  saying  he  ex- 
pected it  was  too  sweet  forme.  The  lad}' replied,  '  She  reck- 
oned not,  for  she  had  no  sugar,  nor  could  she  get  any  for  love 
or  money.'  When  the  hour  of  retirement  came  round, 
Brothers  Owen  ami  Watson  were  each  directed  to  a  small  room 
ining  the  one  in  which  we  were  sitting,  while  George 
and  I  were  to  take  the  bed  in  the  corner.  Some  young 
men  who  belonged  to  the  establishment,  and  two  trick- 
drivers  who  had  met  there  that  night,  remained  by  the  fire  to 


185G-]  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  307 

tell  tales  and  laugh.     I  found  it  impossible  to  sleep,  and  had 
to  ask  them  to  adjourn.     Rid  of  them,  I  composed  myself  to 
rest.     But,    alas  !    '  the    best-laid  schemes  of  mice  and  men 
gang  aft  aglee.'     I  had  been  asleep  an  hour  or  two,  when   I 
was  roused  by  the   mewing  of  a   cat.     Presently   in    came 
another,  responding  in  a  louder  and  sharper  key,  and  another, 
and  another,  until  six  or  seven  had  mustered.     It  proved  to 
be  a  riotous  assembly — in  fact,  hostile,  belligerent.    Whether 
parties  were  as  numerous  as  cats,  it  was  too  dark  for  me  to 
determine.     Whether  the  border  ruffians  had  intruded  upon 
the  squatter  sovereigns,  or   some    old    settler    was    defend- 
ing his  pre-emption  right  from  the  invasion  of  speculators, 
or   the    new-comers    were    wrangling    over   a   claim,   I  will 
not  undertake  to  say  ;   but  there  was  a  general  row,  fierce 
and  formidable.     I  rose  in  my  bed  and  commanded  the  peace 
— insisted  upon  law  and  order.     But  the  squalling  drowned 
my  voice,  or   passion  defied    my  interference.     One  of  the 
heroes  of  the  fight  tried  to  whet  his  claws  for  keener  rapine 
by    scratching  the  walls.     This  waked  George — who  (amid 
'  the  noise  and  confusion'  he  could  not  judge  well  of  localities), 
supposing  the  cats  had  invaded  the  bed,  commenced  a  vigor- 
ous   kicking    and    crying — 'Scat.     He  would  have  won  the 
field  if  these  intruders  had  been  near  him.     After  duly  weigh- 
ing the  peril  of  the  experiment,  I  reached  down,  seized'one  of 
my  boots,  rushed  upon  the  feline  warriors,  and  brought  on  a 
general  stampede.     I  kindled  a  fire,  and,  finding  the  enemy 
had  decamped,  closed  the  door,  and  once  more  retired.    Soon 
the  hogs  under  the  house  renewed  our  troubles  ;  but  we  had 
made  up  our  minds  to  sleep,  and  we  did  sleep. 

"  The  stage  from  Little  Rock  having  met  us,  and  being 
rather  more  commodious,  we  prevailed  upon  the  drivers  to 
exchange.  Soon  after  leaving  in  the  morning,  we  saw  several 
deer  leaping  through  the  woods.  George  was  delighted,  as 
they  were  the  first  he  had  ever  seen. 

"  At  Searcy  I  had  an  appointment  to  preach ;  and 
Brother  McCoy  having  promised  to  take  me  on  to  Little 
Rock,  I  parted  with  my  travelling-companions.    The  congre- 


308  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  [Chap,  xi. 

gation  was  good,  and  the  service,  I  trust,  profitable.  One 
brother  at  least  was  convicted,  and  proved  that  the  Word  was 
'a  discerner  of  the  thoughts  and  intents  of  the  heart.'  I  was 
preaching  on  the  causes  which  defeat  our  prayers,  and  among 
others  mentioned  the  indulgence  of  bad  tempers.  I  gave 
several  illustrations.  After  service  I  went  home  with  Brother 
M ,  and  one  of  my  hearers  came  over  to  see  me  in  the  after- 
noon. In  the  course  of  conversation  he  said,  '  Did  you  ever 
hear  about  my  killing  that  mule?'  '  No,  sir.  Why  do  you 
ask  such  a  question  ?  '  '  Because  he  haunted  me  mightily, 
while  you  were  preaching  to-day.'  He  then  proceeded  to 
relate  how,  in  a  fit  of  passion,  he  had  shot  a  mischievous 
mule,  and  his  mortification  and  shame  when  the  excitement 
of  the  moment  had  passed. 

"  liie  land  in  this  portion  of  Arkansas  i-  not  rich,  but  I 

;>ose,    with    good    cultivation,    quite    productive.       Wild 

ons,  in  fabulous  numbers,  visit  this  region  ;  and  in  some 

places,  known  as  pigeon-roosts,  acres  of  forest  have  been  de- 

yed  by  them.  The  people  kill  them  at  night  by  the 
thousand. 

"  Not  very  far  back  in  the  past  this  must  have  been  a 
prairie  region,  for  the  forest-trees  are  young — of  compara- 
tively recent  growth  and  generally  just  about  the  right  size 
for  first-rate  firewood.  It  is  an  inviting  country,  health}-, 
easy  to  clear,  productive,  land  cheap,  and  game  abundant. 
As  the  traveller  pursues  his  way  he  is  struck  with  the  fre- 
quent recurrence  of  those  signs  which  mark  the  progress  of 
hurricanes.  The}-  levelled  the  woods  in  their  fury,  but  seem 
to  have  been  local — never  of  any  very  great  extent,  but  most 
fearful  in  their  desolation. 

"  I  reached  Hickory  Plains  in  the  afternoon  of  Thursday, 
the  6th  of  November  ;  preached  at  night,  formed  several  very 
pleasant  acquaintances,  and  next  day  preached  at  Red  Oak  ; 
dined  with  Brother  Adams,  and,  through  rain  and  mud,  set 
out  once  more  for  Little  Rock.     About  four  o'clock  a  furious 

rm  came  on,  and  we  were  glad  to  find  a  shelter  eleven 
miles  short  of  our  destination.      The  next  day  was  bitterly 


185(>-]  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  309 

cold,  and  the  mud  several  inches  deeper  than  before.  We 
made  slow  progress  toward  the  capital,  and  on  reaching  the 
ferry,  opposite  the  city,  found,  as  usual  at  such  places  in  the 
West,  a  perfect  caravan  of  emigrant  wagons.  The  old  mill- 
rule,  '  First  come,  first  served,'  is  the  law  of  ferries  also  ; 
and  accordingly  it  was  long,  long  before  our  turn  came. 
The  river  was  swollen,  the  current  strong,  the  boat  a  very 
slow  craft,  and,  of  course,  our  delivery  on  the  other  bank  a 
tardy  result. 

"  At  Little  Rock  we  were  to  lie  over  till  Monday. 
Brother  Wingfield  had  arranged  for  preaching  at  night  and 
on  the  Sabbath.  I  found  comfortable  lodging  with  Brother 
Bertrand,  and  devoted  the  afternoon  to  repose.  The  city  is 
beautifully  located,  has  some  fine  buildings,  and,  when  the 
country  is  more  settled  and  the  projected  railroads  are  fin- 
ished, will  doubtless  grow  into  considerable  importance  as 
an  inland  town. 

"  Brothers  Watson,  Owen,  and  I  hired  a  carriage  to  carry 
us  to  Princeton.  We  travelled  over  a  poor  country,  but  pleas- 
ant company  and  freedom  from  accidents  made  the  journey 
agreeable.  We  expected  to  reach  Princeton  on  Tuesday 
night,  but  on  approaching  Tulip — a  little  running  village — in 
a  long  lane  ahead  of  us  we  saw  quite  a  company  of  men  and 
women  ;  and  as  we  drew  nigh  a  man  stepped  out,  ordered 
us  to  stop,  said  the  road  was  barricaded  with  ladies,  and  that 
we  could  go  no  farther.  By  the  time  he  had  delivered  his 
speech  he  had  reached  the  carriage,  opened  the  door,  and 
ordered  us  out.     I  replied  to  him, 

"  '  We  must  go  on.  Conference  opens  in  the  morning, 
and  I  must  be  there.' 

"  '  I'll  have  you  there  before  the  people  have  done  their 
breakfast.      Get  out,  get  out !  ' 

"  Brother  Owen  remarked,  '  That  is  Willis  Summerville  ; 
I  know  him  of  old.     You  will  have  to  stop.' 

"  '  My  good  brother,'  said  I,  '  I  have  not  heard  from 
home  for  weeks — expect  letters,  and  must  go  on  to-night.' 

"  'No,  you  won't,  I  tell  you.     Brother  Moore,  where  are 


310  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pie,  [CuAr.  xi. 

the  letters  ?  Give  them  to  him  :  take  away  his  last  excuse. 
Get  out,  every  one  of  you.  Boy,  turn  them  horses  round  : 
drive  in  at  that  gate.  No  preacher  or  bishop  ever  passed  me 
yet.  Bishop  Andrew  stayed  here  once,  and  you  are  no  bet- 
ter than  he.  Besides,  some  of  you  will  have  to  preach  here 
to-night  :  the  appointment  is  already  made.  Get  out.  Come, 
out  with  you  !  ' — and  so  we  were  taken  captive,  and  our  im- 
prisonment proved  a  very  pleasant  affair.  True  to  his  prom- 
ise, Brother  Summerville  had  us  up  before  day,  and  we  were 
in  Princeton,  eight  miles  off,  long  before  nine  o'clock. 

"  Princeton  is  a  small  town  containing  clever  people,  and 

L-ral  brethren  of  the  neighborhood  moved  in  and  occupied 
vacant  houses — camp-meeting  style—  to  entertain  the  preach- 
ers and  enjoy  the  services  of  the  Conference.  We  had  a 
-ant  time,  a  harmonious  session,  interesting  anniversaries, 
and  we  parted  in  peace  and  love.  The  Conference — the 
Wachita — is  rapidly  developing.  It  is  in  a  vesy  inviting 
•  i  those  who  would  like  a  new  and  promising  field  of 
labor. 

"  Once  more  we  hired  a  hack — or,  more  appropriately,  a 
•  trick  ' — to  take  us  to  Pine  Bluff  Crammed  in  a  narrow, 
ricl:  .ess  concern,  with  a  team  whose  speed  by  extra 

iances  was  three  miles  per  hour,  onacold,  bleak,  Novem- 
ber da}',  over  a  rooty  road,  we  were  glad  to  take  up  early  in 
the  evening  at  Dr.  Rhodes' — a  South  Carolina  Methodist 
who  has  wandered  to  the  W< 

"  Next  evening  we  reached  Pine  Bluff,  settled  with  our 
driver,  and  took  lodging  at  the  hotel,  hoping  ever)-  hour  for 
a  steamboat.  We  ate  and  slept,  and  rose  in  the  morning  and 
ate  again,  and  speculated  upon  the  probability  of  getting  off 
by  the  river  at  all.  Just  as  we  concluded  to  go  out  in  search 
of  a  conveyance  by  land,  we  heard  the  puffing  and  saw  the 
smoke  of  a  boat.  We  hastened  down  t<>  the  bluff,  and  there 
lay  the  Fox  —  a  little,  dirty,  wheezing,  asthmatic  stern- 
wheeler,  bound  for  Napoleon,  the  place  to  which  we  wished 
to  go.  To  go  or  not  to  go,  was  the  question.  It  was  hard 
to  settle.     The  captain  was  reluctant  to  take  us — advised  us 


1850.]  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  311 

to  wait  for  another  boat ;  but  our  time  was  precious,  other 
chances  very  uncertain,  and  we  determined  to  try  the  Fox. 
I  was  in  favor  of  anything  rather  than  another  day's  ride  in 
an  Arkansas  trick.  The  material  question  with  me  was,  Can 
I  stand  straight  in  the  cabin,  stretch  full  length  in  the  berth, 
and  find  room  in  the  daytime  to  change  my  position  ?  I  felt 
that  my  limbs  were  entitled  to  rest  after  their  long  confine- 
ment, and  anything  in  which  there  was  '  scope  and  verge  ' 
enough  for  change  and  motion  would  suit  for  a  time,  being  a 
change  for  the  better.  Having  satisfied  ourselves  that  we 
could  stand  up,  lie  down,  move  about,  we  took  passage,  in 
defiance  of  dirt,  smoke,  and  slow  motion.  We  found  a 
Frenchman  or  two  for  fellow-passengers.  While  taking  on 
some  cotton  we  bought  a  bushel  of  pecan-nuts  to  crack  and 
eat  when  we  had  nothing  else  to  do  ;  and  thus  provided  we 
floated  down  the  Arkansas.  In  size,  convenience,  and  gen- 
eral arrangement  our  little  craft  bore  about  the  same  relation 
to  a  first-class  steamer  that  a  wheelbarrow  bears  to  a  regular 
stage-coach.  But  the  privilege  of  stretching  one's  self  was 
such  a  luxury  that  we  congratulated  one  another  on  our  es- 
cape from  land  tricks.  When,  at  night,  the  rain  began,  and 
signs  of  a  long  wet  spell  were  all  about  us,  we  really  felt  as 
if  the  little  Fox  were  a  refuge. 

"  The  river  had  been  very  high,  but  was  falling.  On  the 
second  day  we  passed  a  large  boat,  which,  during  the  freshet, 
had  run  upon  a  sandbank,  and  had  been  left  by  the  retreating 
waters  high  and  dry.  Just  after  we  had  passed,  one  of  our 
cylinder-heads  blew  off,  and  we  had  to  lie  by  till  the  piece 
could  be  sent  a  mile  or  more  to  a  blacksmith  shop.  Some 
six  hours  were  lost  in  this  way.  When  the  headpiece  came 
back,  the  awkward  engineer  broke  it  again,  and  another  trip 
to  the  shop  was  necessary.  By  this  time  we  were  restless, 
impatient,  nervous.  Near  sundown  the  news  came  up  that 
the  damage  was  repaired.  Well,  now  we  move.  A  little, 
withered  Frenchman,  who  had  been  very  quiet,  hearing  the 
paddles  turn  once  more,  came  out,  looked  around,  and 
sighing  as  though  his  last  hope  had  fled — '  Ah  me  !  now  we 


312  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pic*  [Chap,  xi 

is  to  have  dc  fogs  ' — and  sure  enough  '  de  fogs '  brought  on  a 
premature  night,  and  so  we  cast  anchor  and  longed  for  day. 

"  Soon  after  we  entered  the  Mississippi  River  we  met  a 
boat  going  to  Memphis.  Brother  Watson  hailed  her,  bade 
us  farewell,  and  left  us  to  float  downward  to  Napoleon.  We 
reached  that  place  just  as  the  II.  M.  Wright,  a  noble  boat, 
was  ringing  her  bell  to  leave  for  New  Orleans.  We  were 
soon  transferred  from  one  boat  to  the  other.  As  we  entered 
the  magnificent  saloon  the  Frenchman  turned  to  me  and 
exclaimed,  with  rapture  in  every  feature,  '  Why,  we  could 
put  de  lcetlc  Fox  in  here  too.' 

"  We  found  on  board  the  II.  M.  Wright,  which  is  a  fine 
great  crowd.     Among  the  rest  several  officers  of 

leer's  army  and  a  company  of  recruits,  mostly  very  young 
men.  Prom  the  exhibition  they  made  of  themselves  they 
will  not  much  improve  the  morals  of  Nicaragua,  whatever 
else  they  may  do  for  the  new  republic. 

"  We  reached  Vicksburg  about  four  o'clock  in  the  morn- 
ing. Rising  at  that  early  hour  I  was  surprised  to  find  not  a 
few  who  had  spent  the  night  in  gambling.  Among  the  party 
were  some  who  during  the  day  affected  to  be  sober,  sedate 
gentlemen,  and  who,  I  learned,  at  home  contrived  to  main- 
tain the  character  of  praiseworthy  citizens.  Vet  here  they 
were  midnight  gamblers,  fleecing  the  green  boys  who  amid 
smoke  and  liquor  were  wasting  the  substance  of  their  fathers' 
life-long  industry.  Prodigal  youths! — veteran  hypocrites  ! 
The  serpents  and  their  victims  !  The  heart  is  deceitful  and 
desperately  wicked.  Heaven  save  the  young  men  of  the 
land  from  the  wiles  of  their  seniors  in  depravity  ! 

"  On  landing,  we  went  to  the  hotel  of  General  McMackin, 
who  has  the  reputation  of  being  the  politest  man  in  the 
Union.  When  we  went  down  to  breakfast  I  was  much 
amused  by  the  novel  mode  the  general  has  of  informing  his 
guests  what  has  been  provided  for  them.  In  one  corner  of 
the  spacious  dining-hall  there  is  a  counter  on  which  the  prod- 
ucts of  the  kitchen  are  spread.  There  stands  '  mine  host,' 
knife  and  fork  in  hand,  and  in  tones  peculiar  to  himself  he 


!856.]  nfe  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  313 

cries — '  Nice  turkey — hash — cold  ham — fresh  sausages — beef- 
steak, the  best  in  the  world ;  '  and  then,  addressing  the 
waiters,  he  will  say,  '  Hand  round  the  rolls — hurry  up  the  hot 
cakes  ;  '  and  all  his  various  directions  worked  into  a  sort  of 
song  ;  and  were  it  not  that  the  tune  is  a  nondescript,  one 
might  imagine  that  the  old  Roman  fashion  of  combining 
music  and  feasting  had  been  revived  on  the  banks  of  the 
Mississippi.  This  plan  is  a  substitute  for  the  printed  bills  of 
fare,  now  common  in  all  the  best  city  hotels.  He  says,  I  un- 
derstand, that  the  reason  he  adopted  this  unique  method  was, 
that  some  years  ago  he  kept  a  public-house  in  Jackson,  and 
many  of  his  boarders  were  members  of  the  Legislature,  and 
could  not  read,  so  he  had  to  call  out  for  their  information. 
Finding  it  cheap  and  easy,  he  had  continued  it.  Soon  after 
breakfast  the  Rev.  C.  K.  Marshall  came  down  and  transferred 
us  to  his  hospitable  mansion. 

"  The  Sabbath  was  devoted  to  preaching,  and  on  Monday 
we  took  the  cars  for  Canton.  We  arrived  after  dark,  and  in 
a  heavy  rain.  Having  picked  up  several  preachers  on  the 
route,  we  found  no  little  difficulty  in  obtaining  conveyances 
to  Kosciusko,  still  forty  miles  distant.  We  succeeded  at  last, 
and  set  out  under  the  pledge  to  be  carried  through  in  the 
day.  But  rain,  mud,  high  waters,  defeated  us.  Just  at 
night  we  reached  a  creek  which  was  swimming  ;  our  carriage, 
too,  broke  down  ;  and  in  a  heavy  shower  we  got  out  to  foot 
it,  a  mile  or  more,  to  Thomastown.  After  diligent  search 
we  found  a  log  on  which  we  could  cross,  and  so,  picking  our 
way  every  man  for  himself,  we  took  up  the  line  of  march. 
The  carriage  and  baggage  we  left  to  come  over  in  the  morn- 
ing. 

"  On  reaching  the  village  we  took  refuge  in  a  house  of 
entertainment  kept  by  Mr.  Cotton.  He  proved  to  be  a 
warm-hearted,  clever,  old  Hardshell  Baptist.  When  we  were 
all  (eight  in  number)  seated  around  a  rousing  fire,  trying  to 
dry  our  garments,  our  host  inquired, '  Are  you  all  preachers  ?  ' 
He  was  answered  affirmatively. 

"  '  Mercy  upon  me  !     I  thought  there  were  enough  passed 


314  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  [Or**.  XL 

here  yesterday  to  take  the  country.     Are  there  any  more  be- 
hind ?  ' 

"  '  O  yes,  several  on  the  other  side  of  the  creek.' 

"  'Well,  well,  I  never  saw  the  like  before.  Where  is  that 
man  you  call  George  Pierce  ?  I  want  to  see  him  ;  my  wife 
is  his  coi/sii:.' 

"  When  I  was  pointed  out  to  him  he  examined  me  with 
a  critic's  eye,  a-  though  he  expected  to  see  the  horns  of  the 
Beast  or  the  spokes  of  the  Iron  Wheel.  Satisfied  from  his 
inspection  that  I  was  n<>t  dangerous,  he  led  me  into  another 
room  and  introduced  me  to  my  cousin.  Never  having  met 
before,  of  course  there  were  many  questions  to  ask  and 
answer  of  the  various  branches  of  our  tribe.  So  our  night's 
adventure  turned  out  a  very  pleasant  affair. 

"  Instead  of  waiting  for  the  carriage  in  the  morning  I 
borrowed  a  horse  from  my  new-found  kin.  and,  accompanied 
by  one  of  the   boys,  I  started  for  Kosciusko.      I  overtook  a 

it  many  of  the  brethren,  and  among  the  rest  old  Ira  Bird% 
as  lie  is  called.     II:  has  long  been  superannuated,  but  was 
i   Conference   to  take  work  again.      lie  travelled 
the   Appalachee    Circuit  when   I    was  a  little  boy,  and  he 
sec::  the   fires  of  his   youth  as  he  talked  with 

of  the  inciii  these  days.     This  veteran  travels  in 

the  old  style,  and  would  as  soon  think  of  backsliding  as  of 
giving  up  his  saddle-bags.  Although  well  mounted  myself,  I 
found  it  difficult  to  keep  up  with  him.  I  was  eager  to  reach 
the  Conference  in  time,  and  the  fiery  spirit  which  warms  his 
old  body  was  but  obeying  its  native  impulses  ;  and  on  we 
went,  leaving  all  the  rest  to  follow  as  best  they  might. 

"  Despite  our  haste  we  were  a  little  behind  time.  The 
preachers,  aware  of  our  circumstances,  had  met  and  ad- 
journed. It  was  soon  arranged  to  meet  again,  and  the  first 
day's  work  was  done.  I  shall  not  soon  forget  the  comfortable 
quarters  I  found  at  the  house  of  Mr.  Thompson.  The  Lord 
reward  him  in  both  worlds  !  The  Mississippi  Conference  at 
Kosciusko  may  be  known  as  the  Rainy  Conference.  Day 
and   night  the  sluwers  fell.     The   Sabbath,  however,  was  a 


185C]  Life  ami  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  315 

sunbright.  balmy  day.  At  night  the  rain  commenced  again, 
and  continued  with  slight  intermissions  to  the  close,  at  noon 
on  Tuesday,  November  30th. 

"  Dr.  Hamilton,  the  Secretary  of  the  Tract  Society,  and 
Brother  McTyeire,  the  Editor  of  the  New  Orleans  Advocate, 
were  with  us  at  this  Conference,  and  proposed  to  accompany 
me  to  Alabama.  Bad  roads,  high  waters,  suspended  stages, 
made  the  choice  of  routes  quite  a  problem.  After  many  in- 
quiries and  long  debate  we  concluded  that  the  longest  way 
would  be  the  quickest  passage.  So  we  made  arrangements 
to  go  to  Lexington,  and  there  to  take  stage  for  Holly 
Springs.  ( 

"  The  brethren  Hamilton  and  McTyeire  were  in  one 
vehicle,  Owen,  George,  and  myself  in  another.  We  stopped 
to  dine  with  Brother  Harrington,  and  as  we  were  crossing 
the  country  by  neighborhood-paths  rather  than  roads,  we 
had  to  obtain  very  minute  directions.  We  got  a  written 
way-bill,  and  as  we  often  reached  a  point  where  many  ways 
met,  it  was  amusing  to  see  us  all  halted,  while  one  or  more 
examined  the  map  of  directions.  Without  the  paper  we 
should  most  certainly  have  been  lost.  I  have  read  o^  the 
pursuit  of  knowledge  under  difficulties,  and,  without  doubt, 
we  learned  very  laboriously.  After  dark  a  little  we  reached 
Lexington,  and  found  the  stage  would  leave  at  4  o'clock  A.M. 

"  Before  we  move  again  I  will  say  that  I  was  no  little 
surprised  to  find  the  portion  of  Mississippi  over  which  I 
passed  very  much  worn  and  exhausted.  Get  away  from 
the  river,  and  you  find  old  fields,  gullies,  numerous,  deep, 
and  anything  but  comely.  Many  places  have  an  old,  for- 
saken look,  reminding  one  of  some  of  the  most  dilapidated 
portions  of  Georgia.  New  countries  will  wear  out,  after  all, 
especially  under  the  same  miserable  system  of  tillage  which 
has  marred  the  older  Southern  States. 

"  In  the  morning,  before  daybreak,  we  were  crowded  into 
what  they  very  properly  call  a  mud-wagon.  There  were  nine 
of  us,  and  no  little  baggage,  and  away  we  sped  at  the  lowest 
gait  compatible  with  what  is  called  progress.      We  had  tc 


31G  Life  and  Times,  of  George  F.  Pierce.         t(1IAr  XL 

walk  up  hill  and  down  hill,  and  the  only  matter  of  congratu- 
lation among  us  was,  that  we  did  not  have  to  can)-  a  rail. 
When  we  reached  the  breakfast-house,  Brother  McTyeire, 
whose  taste  is  cultivated  and  judgment  prompt  and  clear,  de- 
clined to  eat,  and  concluded  to  walk  on.  The  speed  of  the 
stage  may  be  guessed  when  I  say  that  we  did  not  overtake  him 
under  eight  miles.  To  the  credit,  however,  of  the  stage-line, 
it  ought  to  be  known  that  his  locomotive  powers  arc  a  little 
extra.  His  figure  is  of  the  most  approved  model  for  a  long 
race. 

>on  after  taking  him  up,  we  reached  Carrollton,  a 
very  picturesque  town,  with  some  neat  and  tasteful  private 
residences.  As  the  stage  stopped  to  deliver  the  mail  and 
change  horses,  we  all  sought  relief  in  a  walk  of  two  or  three 
miles.      Weary,   sore,   and  dinnerless,  we  travelled   on   till 

lit,  when  we  halted   .  cabin  for  supper.     The   signs 

of  neglect  and  discomfort,  within  and  without,  made  the 
meal,  which  was  good  in  material,  well  cooked,  and  abundant 
in  quantity,  a  very  agreeable  surprise. 

"  With  a  new  driver,  fresh  horses,  but  the  same  old  wagon, 
we  set  out  in  the  darkness  for  Grenada.  We  had  not  gone 
more  than  a  mil  >  before  we  capsized.     The  night  was 

cold  ;  we  were  all  wrapped  up  in  cloaks  and  blankets,  the 
curtains  all  fast,  and  we  lay  in  pi,  or  rather  in  strata,  pri- 
mary, secondary,  and  tertiary.  A  general  inquiry, '  Anybody 
hurt?  '  a  common  answer,  '  No  ;  '  then  a  hearty  laugh  ;  and 
all  taking  things  very  quietly,  till  a  Mississippi  judge,  who 
lay  under  Brother  Owen  and  another,  began  to  make  signs 
of  distress.  The  point  of  egress  was  small,  and  relief  to  the 
judge,  '  like  the  good  time  coming,'  was  slow  in  its  ap- 
proaches. Finally  we  were  all  out — none  broken  or  bruised  ; 
the  driver  made  his  apology,  we  righted  the  wagon,  resumed 
our  seats,  and  rode  uneasily  the  rest  of  that  stage.  To  in- 
crease apprehension,  we  found  out  that  our  driver  was  unac- 
quainted with  the  road,  and  was  nearly  blind.  We  put  a 
man  with  eyes  by  his  side,  and  after  many  outs  and  ins  we 
reached   Grenada.     From  this  point  there   were  two  routes, 


1856-]  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  317 

one  by  Memphis,  the  other  by  Oxford  and  Holly  Springs. 
A  council  was  held  ;  Brother  Owen  concluded  to  lie  over  till 
morning  and  take  the  Memphis  route ;  the  rest  of  us  deter- 
mined to  adhere  to  the  original  plan.  He  went  to  bed,  and 
we  took  the  stage.  The  incidents  of  that  night  and  the  next 
two  days  demand  special  notice. 

11  On  going  out  to  take  our  places  we  found  a  regular 
coach  ;  and  if  the  good  people  of  Grenada  had  not  given  us 
such  terrible  accounts  of  the  road,  we  should  have  felt  our- 
selves greatly  improved  in  circumstances.  We  were  assured 
of  trouble,  and  verily  we  found  it.  The  night  was  dark,  the 
road  one  long  mud-hole,  the  driver  new,  unacquainted  with 
the  teams,  timid  withal,  and  in  nine  hours  we  travelled  sixteeii 
miles.  After  a  good  deal  of  muttering  and  complaint,  of  re- 
gret that  this  route  was  chosen,  and  many  evil  prophecies  of 
delay,  failures  to  connect,  and  so  on,  we  resigned  ourselves  to 
the  chances,  and  went  to  nodding.  In  the  darkness,  by  and 
by,  there  was  a  jolt,  and  a  crash,  and  a  dead  pause. 

"  '  What's  the  matter  now  ?  ' 

"  '  Get  out,  gentlemen,  and  help  me,  if  you  please.' 

"  With  reluctance  we  unwrap  and  step  forth.  We  find 
ourselves  otct  of  the  road  and  in  a  ditch.  Now  for  rails  and 
prizing  !  At  it  we  go.  After  much  heaving  and  setting,  we 
raise  the  front  wheels  to  a  level ;  the  driver  mounts  his  box, 
gives  the  word  to  his  horses — they  jerk  one  at  a  time,  and 
down  comes  the  coach  again  !  Once  more  we  raise  it  up. 
Now  the  horses  refuse  to  pull  at  all.  Some  of  the  passengers 
despair — give  up  ;  others,  shivering  with  cold,  propose  to 
make  a  fire  and  camp  till  morning  ;  others  of  us  insist  on  re- 
newed efforts.  Another  vigorous  trial,  and  the  difficulty  is 
overcome. 

"  '  Walk  up  the  hill,  if  you  please.'  It  is  done.  We  take 
our  seats  and  move  along  slowly.  After  a  mile  or  two  the 
driver  halts  his  team  :  '  Gentlemen,  there's  something  the 
matter  with  the  coach  ;  she  don't  move  right,  somehow.' 
Out  we  go  again.  '  Light  the  lamp,  and  let  us  see  what's  the 
matter.'      On  examination,  it  was  found  that  the  king-bolt 


318  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  [Ohap.  XI 

had  been  broken  by  the  concussion  in  the  ditch,  and  that  the 
body  had  fallen  from  the  bolster  on  the  coupling-pole.  Here 
was  a  scrape.  To  rectify,  required  skill  and  strength.  After 
many  abortive  plans  and  efforts,  the  work  was  done.  Now 
for  a  few  more  ejaculations  on  the  folly  of  coming  this  way. 
Brother  Hamilton  and  McTyeirc,  disinclined  from  the  out- 
set to  this  route,  would  jeer  me  for  being  persuaded  to  adopt 
it.  I  was  on  the  defensive  all  the  way.  Hamilton  would 
show  by  figures,  based  on  distance  and  time,  that  it  was  the 
very  worst  thing  we  could  have  done.  McTyeire,  with  a  sigh, 
would  concentrate  his  regrets  by  a  sententious  recapitulation 
of  the  mishaps  behind  and  the  prospects  ahead,  and  wind 
up  with  a  look  which  seemed  to  say,  *  Catch  me  on  another 
ram's  horn  route  !  '  I  would  try  to  cheer  them  with  the  hope 
that  we  should  reach  Tuskcgce  in  time — that  we  were  im- 
proving our  knowledge  of  geography,  and  learning  to  shift 
for  ourselves  amid  the  difficulties  of  life.  But  Hamilton  was 
sick  and  nervous,  McTyeire  was  disappointed  in  a  visit  to  his 
friends,  ami  the  best  speech  I  could  make  left  them  regretful 
and  disconsolate. 

"  We  took  a  cheerless  breakfast  at  Coffcevillc,  walked  a 

mile  to  stretch  ami   get  warm,  spent  the  morning  amid  the 

,  and  about  eleven  mired  down  in  a  creek  swamp, 

and   gut  out  to  work  in  mud  and  water.     As  all  could   not 

':    at   one    wheel,    McTyeire    and    I    walked    ahead,    and 
to  rest  upon  a  narrow  bridge.      Presently  the  driver 
reined  up  his  horses  for  a  pull  ;  the  leaders  did  their  best — 
every  trace  broke — they  were  frightened  and  ran  away  ! 

"The  horses  were  obliged  to  cross  the  bridge,  and  by 
the  time  they  reached  it,  seemed  infuriate  with  the  panic; 
the  broken  traces  were  flying  at  ever}'  bound,  and  we  were 
in  peril.  Our  only  chance  was  to  get  on  the  outer  edge  and 
flatten  ourselves  into  the  least  possible  space.  The  mad- 
dened steeds  passed  us  without  injur}-,  and  as  they  fled 
through  the  swamp  on  the  other  side  of  the  creek,  I  too  felt 
that  all  was  lost.  McTyeire  at  last  found  some  relief  to  his 
burdened  spirits  in  a  hearty  lau^h  at  my  blank,  despairing 


1S56.]  life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  319 

countenance.  Presently,  a  man  came  along  with  an  ox-team, 
and  we  got  him  to  hitch  on  and  pull  out  the  stage.  By  this 
time  we  heard  that  the  runaway  horses  were  hung  in  a  tree- 
top  and  brought  to  a  halt.  So  we  sent  after  them,  and  while 
the  driver  was  repairing  the  harness,  McTyeire  and  myself 
concluded  to  travel  on,  telling  those  we  left  that  we  would 
wait  for  them  somewhere  in  the  road.  We  walked  till  we 
were  tired,  and  called  at  a  farm-house  and  asked  for  dinner. 
We  were  enjoying  ourselves  most  luxuriously  when  the  stage 
was  announced.  '  Tell  them  to  hold  on — we  must  finish  this 
operation.'  We  had  worked  the  livelong  night  and  more 
than  half  the  day  ;  walked,  in  all,  about  fifteen  miles,  and  our 
appetites  were  ravenous,  and  the  meat  was  savory. 

"  '  My  friend,'  said  Brother  McTyeire,  '  go  out  and  invite 
them  all  in :  I  know  they  are  hungry.' 

"  'Tell  them  the  dinner  is  fine — the  very  best  we  have 
had,'  said  I. 

"  In  the  meantime  we  were  doing  our  best. 

"  '  Another  piece  of  that  ham,  if  you  please,  ma'am.' 

"  '  Have  you  another  cup  of  coffee  ?  ' 

"'Plenty,  sir.' 

"  '  The  driver  says  he  will  not  wait,  gentlemen.' 

"  'This  is  the  finest  corn-bread,  the  freshest  butter,'  said 
McTyeire. 

"  'The  stage  is  starting,  gentlemen.' 

"  '  Let  us  go,  McTyeire,  I  am  tired  of  walking.' 

"  '  I  suppose  we  must  ;  but  this  is  too  bad  ! ' 

"  Byway  of  revenge  on  our  impatient  friends,  we  described 
the  dinner  with  the  most  appetite-provoking  particularity  ; 
told  them  how  refreshed  we  were ;  jeered  them  on  their 
empty  stomachs,  and  predicted  a  late  supper  and  a  poor  one. 

"  Finally  we  reached  the  last  stage-stand  on  the  way  to  Ox- 
ford. Just  as  we  refitted  and  were  ready  for  a  new  start,  the 
snow  began,  and  as  I  had  taken  a  seat  on  the  outside,  I  saw 
and  felt  all  the  fury  of  the  storm.  My  black  blanket  was 
very  soon  a  blanket  of  another  color.  After  dark  we  rode 
into  Oxford,  and  as  we  expected  to  go  right  on,  the  driver 


Life  and  Tunes  of  George  F.  Pierce.  [Chap.  XI 

by  request  took  us  around  to  show  us  the  town.  Soon  after 
our  arrival,  we  were  informed  that  the  Tallahatchie  River  was 
impassable,  and  the  road  to  it  too  bad  for  night  travel,  and 
that  we  must  lie  over  till  morning.  Dr.  Hamilton  sighed  ; 
Brother  McTyeire  cried,  '  Detention — detention.'  '  Let  us 
take  a  room  and  go  to  bed.  In  sleep  we  will  forget  all  our 
troubles,'  said  I. 

"  lSefore  sunrise  we  were  once  more  under  way.  Sure 
enough,  when  we  reached  the  river,  it  was  swollen  and  the 
rope  was  gone  ;  and  the  ferryman  said  we  must  go  ten  miles 
out  of  our  way,  or  go  over  two  at  a  time  in  a  canoe  and 
wait  for  a  stage  from  I  lolly  Springs.  The  latter  plan  was 
adopted.  Dr.  Hamilton  and  1  went  over  first,  kindled  a  fire, 
and  encamped.  When  all  were  over,  Brother  McTyeire  and 
I  determined  to  set  out  afoot.  We  had  a  swamp  a  mile  wide 
to  cross,  and  found  no  little  difficulty  in  finding  a  way  through 
it.  By  tacking  and  turning,  crossing  lagoons  on  logs,  and 
wading  a  little,  we  reached  dry  land,  and  started  for  Holly 
Springs. 

"  We  travelled  three  miles,  met  the  Stage,  gave  the 
driver  directions  where  to  find  our  friends  ;  and  as  noon  had 
come,  we  conch:'.  I  I  i  make  another  experiment  in  the  way 
of  dinner.  We  stopped  at  a  fincdooking  house  on  the  road- 
— were  kindly  invited  in--dinner  was  ordered,  and  we 
undertook  to  improve  the  interval  by  conversation  with  our 
host.  He  proved  to  be  a  Georgian  -knew  my  father  well, 
and  seemed  glad  of  our  visit.  We  found  him  a  man  of  many 
sorrows.  In  the  midst  of  wealth  he  was  desolate.  Bereave- 
ment had  broken  him  up.  Within  the  year  he  had  lost  his 
wife  and  two  grown  children  ;  and  another,  who  had  gone  to 
Texas,  he  supposed  from  his  last  intelligence  was  dead  also.  A 
few  days  before  a  tornado  had  swept  his  plantation,  overturned 
his  barns,  gin-houses,  and  out-houses  generally,  killed  some 
negroes,  maimed  others  for  life,  and  spread  ruin  around.  There 
he  was,  a  gray-haired  old  man,  amid  the  wreck  of  his  plans 
and  his  hopes,  mourning  the  absence  of  his  loved  ones.  We 
talked  with  him  of  providence  and  grace,  and  prayed  that  his 


1856-1  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  321 

afflictions  may  be  sanctified  to  his  salvation.  Again  as  we 
sat  down  to  dine  and  were  beginning'  to  enjoy  our  meal,  the 
stage-horn  blew  an  impatient  blast.  We  dispatched  a  mes- 
senger, begging  for  a  brief  dispensation  ;  but  Pharaoh  knew 
not  Joseph,  and  he  would  show  no  favor.  So  we  had  to 
deny  ourselves  a  refreshing  repast,  and — what  in  this  instance 
we  regretted  more — leave  our  grief-stricken  host  without 
prayer.  In  our  hearts  we  remembered  him,  and  trust  our 
Father  in  heaven  for  the  answer. 

"This  portion  of  Mississippi  shows  the  marks  of  hard 
usage.     It  is  a  fine  farming  country,  but  has  been  better. 

"  We  reached  Holly  Springs  before  night.  To  this  point 
we  had  been  looking  as  the  terminus  of  our  stage-travel,  and 
the  end  of  our  travelling  troubles.  But,  alas  !  we  found  that 
the  heavy  rains  had  made  a  breach  in  the  railroad,  and  that 
the  time  the  cars  would  start  again  was  very  uncertain.  We 
planned,  and  talked,  and  bewailed  our  detention,  and  then 
went  to  sleep.  The  next  day  was  the  Sabbath.  We  re- 
ported ourselves  to  the  brethren,  and  in  the  forenoon  I  tried 
to  preach.  At  three  o'clock  P.  M.  the  cars  left,  and  we  went 
down  to  LaGrange,  twenty  miles,  in  order  to  take  the  train 
from  Memphis,  early  in  the  morning. 

"  When  the  train  from  Memphis  came  along  on  the  morn- 
ing of  the  eighth  of  December,  we  once  more  set  out  for  the 
Alabama  Conference.  But,  alas  !  another  breach  in  the  road 
arrested  our  progress,  and  we  were  constrained  to  take  stage 
and  creep  along  bad  roads  for  forty  miles.  An  afternoon 
and  night  were  consumed  in  this  slow  travel,  and  about  day- 
break we  reached  Buzzards'  Roost,  where  we  shook  hands 
with  the  stage  and  '  shed  not  a  tear.' 

"Buzzards  Roost  !  what  a  name  for  a  beautiful  country  ! 
This  valley  of  the  Tennessee  will  compare  favorably  with  any 
farming  region  of  the  South  or  South-west.  Level,  fertile, 
and  very  generally  under  cultivation,  it  looks  like  one  vast 
plantation.  Long-settled  and  hard-worked,  the  signs  of  ex- 
haustion are  very  apparent.  The  great  staple— King  Cotton 
— wears  the  earth,  and,  while  clothing  the  people,  strips  the 

21 


322  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pie ree.  [Chap.  xi. 

ground  to  nakedness.  Where  once  the  plant  grew  like  a 
tree,  the  overtasked  and  weary  soil  can  only  produce  a 
stunted  shrub.  The  scattered  habitations  indicate  the  wealth 
of  the  proprietors,  and  they  now  loom  up  amid  the  naked 
fields  like  monuments  commemorative  of  what  has  been. 
These  lands  in  good  seasons  yet  produce  remunerative  crops, 
and  might  easily  be  restored  to  their  original  fertility.  The 
Southern  people,  however,  obstinately  cling  to  the  notion 
that  it  is  easier  and  more  profitable  to  fell  the  forest,  and 
work  virgin  lands,  than  to  fertilize  the  old  fields.  When  the 
country  is  older,  and  the  population  more  settled,  a  change 
of  policy  will  become  a  necessity,  and  practice  will  reverse 
the  theory.  There  is  too  much  new  hind  at  present  for  the 
introduction  of  this  vivifying  experiment.  The  day  will 
come,  and  a  distant  posterity  will  wonder  at  the  reckless 
abuse  of  the  earth  by  the  generations  past. 

"  After  the  toil,  weariness,  and  detentions  of  the  last  few 

days,  it  was  cheering  to  learn  that  the  roads  through  Tennes- 
i.  and  Alabama  were  uninjured  by  the  recent 
rain-,  and  that  the  trains  were  regular  in  their  trips.  The 
only   in  drawback   upon  our  enjoyment,  under  these 

circumstanc  the    fact   that,    after   all    our  efforts,  we 

uld  be  a  few  hours  behindhand.  Conscious  of  having 
done  our  best,  and  assured  that  the  brethren  would  not  sus- 
pect us  of  neglect,  we  surrendered  ourselves  to  the  luxury  of 
memory  and  hope.  We  remembered  our  troubles  '  as  waters 
that  pass  away,'  and,  hoping  that  the  clouds  would  not  re- 
turn after  the  rain,  we  rejoiced  in  our  deliverance. 

"  About  noon  of  Wednesday  we  rode  into  Tuskegee. 
The  light  of  main-  a  familiar  face  beamed  upon  us,  and  the 
cordial  welcome  of  the  brethren  made  us  feel  how  pleasant  it 

•  r  those  whose  hearts  and  aims  and  hopes  are  one,  to  meet 
.u\d  mingle  in  social  Christian  fellowship. 

"  The  Conference  session  was  pleasant  and  profitable. 
Several  topics  of  grave  interest  outside  of  the  regular  busi- 
ness, but  pertinent  to  the  interests  of  the  Church,  came  be- 
fore us,  were  seriously  discussed,  and  satisfactorily  disposed  of. 


1856-3  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  323 

"  In  the  examination  of  character  a  pleasant  little  inci- 
dent occurred,  which  I  will  here  relate.  The  tale  has  its 
moral. 

"  The  church  in  which  we  assembled  was  crowded  from 
day  to  day  with  interested  spectators.  On  one  occasion  two 
Baptist  ministers  were  introduced  to  me,  presented  to  the 
Conference,  and  invited  to  be  seated  in  our  midst.  Not  long 
after  this  ceremony — in  the  regular  order — a  brother's  name 
was  called,  and  the  usual  question  propounded,  '  Is  there  any- 
thing against  him  ?  '  The  presiding  elder,  in  representing 
him,  remarked  that  he  had  succeeded  well  in  his  circuit — a 
circuit  hitherto  regarded  as  a  very  unpromising  field  for 
Methodism.  Among  other  evidences  of  his  zeal  and  in- 
fluence he  stated  that  at  one  place  the  preacher  had  taken 
several  Baptists  into  our  Church. 

"  A  brother  rose  and  said  :  '  That  statement  needed  ex- 
planation ;  it  might  be  a  grave  objection  to  the  passage  of  the 
preacher's  character.  If  he  had  been  stealing  into  other 
people's  folds  to  proselyte,  unsettling  the  minds  of  members 
about  their  Church  relations,  he  should  vote  against  him,  be- 
cause this  transferring  members  from  one  Church  to  another 
was  a  great  evil ;  no  good  came  out  of  it ;  it  was  not  promot- 
ing Christianity  :  the  Church  of  Christ  was  not  extended  by 
any  such  operation  ;  it  was  the  preacher's  business  to  get  the 
people  of  the  world  converted  ;  such  cases  were  accessions  to 
the  Church — the  other  plan  was  a  cheat ;  one  Church  might 
count  more,  but  the  friends  of  Christ  were  not  multiplied.' 
To  these  sentiments  there  was  a  hearty  approving  response. 
Such  was  the  mind  of  the  Conference  ;  the  presiding  elder 
said  he  would  explain  :  The  preacher  had  done  nothing  wrong 
— he  had  not  been  proselyting — but  in  the  neighborhood 
where  these  Baptists  lived  there  had  been  a  great  revival, 
and  when  the  doors  of  the  Church  were  opened  these  Bap- 
tists joined  of  their  own  free  will.  Among  them,  said  the 
elder,  was  a  preacher,  whose  remark  on  the  occasion  explains 
it  all.  After  he  had  joined,  a  friend  said  to  him,  '  Why,  I 
thought  you  were  a  Hardshell'     '  So  I  was,'  said  the  preach- 


324  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  [Ohap.  xl 

er  ;   '  but  tJicse  Methodists  have  ringfired  vie  ami  burnt  off  my 
shell,  and  I  could  but  join  them.'     .      .      ." 

The  journey  home  was  soon  made.  He  had  been  gone 
from  September  to  January,  and  had  made  a  tour  which  had 
called  for  great  endurance  ;  but  he  said  lie  could  endure  more 
hardship  with  less  inconvenience  than  most  any  man  he  knew. 
He  certainly  could  with  less  complaint. 

I  have  preferred  to  let  him  tell  his  own  story  without  in- 
terruption. The  account  he  gives  of  the  Kansas  troubles, 
is,  of  course,  an  account  from  a  Southern  stand-point,  lie 
tells  what  he  saw,  and  what  he  heard.  I  have  not  felt  at 
liberty  to  suppress  this  letter.  Bishop  Tierce,  as  I  have  said, 
politically  was  a  Whig  and  a  Union  man.  The  fact  that 
Robert  Toombs  and  Alexander  Stephens  and  Richard  M. 
Johnson,  his  close  friends,  were  all  Democrats,  had  not  at  all 
moved  him  from  his  political  position,  but  he  was  intensely  a 
Southern  man.  He  wanted  nothing  for  the  South  but  the 
rights  she  had  had  from  the  day-  of  the  Colonies,  rights  se- 
cured to  her  by  the  treat}'  with  England  at  the  end  of  the 
war,  and  rights  never  surrendered  by  .her,  in  any  written  in- 
strument. He  wanted  no  more  than  the  rights  she  had  re- 
ed, but  he  wanted  these.  He  had  little  to  do  with  party 
politics,  and  nned  everything  that  was  wrong,  by  any 

party  whatever.  He  reached  his  home  in  time  to  preach 
at  Sparta,  December  28th,  and  remained  at  home  till  April, 
when  he  went  on  a  visit  so  Memphis.  He  paused  at  Tunnel 
Hill,  a  little  hamlet  in  Upper  Georgia,  and  preached  there. 
1  )r.  Pi  1    •  says  of  this  sermon  : 

"  Bishop   Tierce  dedicated  a   church    at  Tunnel  Hill,  Ga., 
in  April,  This  was   outside  of  Holston,    but   not   far 

from  the  line  between  the  Holston  and  Georgia  Conferences. 
When  I  reached  the  church  on  Saturday,  the  25th,  he  was 
preaching  from  1  Timothy  ii.  8  :  '  I  will,  therefore,  that  men 
pray  everywhere,  lifting  up  holy  hands,  without  wrath  or 
doubting.'  The  sermon  was  lucid  and  heart-searching.  On 
the  subject  of  incessant  prayer  the  preacher  said  :  '  Our 
prayers  are  too  periodical ;  we  pray  here,  and  we  pray  there 


1856-]  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  325 

(putting  his  finger  down  at  different  points  on  the  pulpit 
board),  but  in  the  name  of  God,  brethren,  what  are  we  doing 
all  along  between  here  and  there  ?  '  The  exclamation  came 
with  power,  and  like  a  flash  of  lightning  produced  an  evident 
sensation  throughout  the  entire  audience. 

"  The  new  church  had  been  built  mainly  by  the  liberality 
of  the  Rev.  Clisbe  Austin,  a  local  preacher,  and  the  bishop 
had  intended  to  use  as  his  dedicatory  text  on  Sunday,  Luke 
vii.  4,  5  :  '  And  when  they  came  to  Jesus,  they  besought  him 
instantly,  saying,  That  he  was  worthy  for  whom  he  should 
do  this  :  for  he  loveth  our  nation,  and  he  hath  built  us  a 
synagogue.'  But  he  suddenly  changed  his  mind  and  preached 
from  Matthew  xvi.  24:  'Then  said  Jesus  unto  his  disciples, 
If  any  man  will  come  after  me,  let  him  deny  himself,  and 
take  up  his  cross,  and  follow  me.'  He  dwelt  mainly  on  self- 
denial.  All  government  implied  an  abridgment  of  natural 
liberty.  There  could  be  no  civil  government  without  self- 
denial.  The  citizen  must  deny  himself  up  to  the  civil  law. 
So  the  Christian  must  deny  himself  up  to  the  moral  law. 
Whatever  possession,  or  pursuit,  or  gratification  stands  in  the 
way  of  Christian  society  must  be  relinquished.  The  preacher 
denied  the  genuineness  of  much  that  passes  for  self-denial. 
He  claimed  that  to  abandon  sin  and  espouse  Christ  was  really 
no  self-denial  ;  that  men  were  very  much  mistaken  if  they 
thought  they  were  making  great  sacrifices  when  they  turned 
from  their  wicked  ways  to  the  service  of  God  ;  that  when  a 
hoary  sinner,  who  has  been  lapping  like  a  dog  for  a  half- 
century  from  the  dirty  cesspools  of  iniquity  turns  to  Christ 
to  quaff  the  pure,  pellucid  waters  of  eternal  life,  there  was  no 
self-denial  in  that.  The  man  was  surrendering  nothing  valu- 
able, and  coming  into  possession  of  vast  riches  and  unspeak- 
able blessedness.     The  sermon  was  in  power." 

He  went  thence  to  Memphis,  where  he  dedicated  a  church. 
It  was  while  he  was  on  this  visit  that  the  Memphis  people 
proposed  to  give  him  a  home  in  the  city  if  he  would  change 
his  residence.  He  took  the  matter  under  advisement,  and 
while  grateful  for  the  offer  finally  declined  it. 


CHAPTER    XII. 

EPISCOPAL  JOURNEYINGS,  1857,  AGED  46. 

To  West  Virginia  —  To  Kentucky — North  Carolina — Virginia — Louis- 
iana—  Letter  to  Claude  —  Personal  Appearance — Making  Appoint- 
ments—Treadling— Dr.  Thomas?  Tribute. 

His  district  for  this  year  included  the  West  Virginia,  Ken- 
tuck}-,  Louisville  Virginia,  North  Carolina,  and  Louisiana 
Conferences.  He  went  by  railway  t<>  Richmond,  and  thence 
to  Staunton,  Ya.,  where  he  took  the  stage  for  Charleston, 
\Y.  Va.  lie  came  by  the  White  Sulphur  Springs,  in  Green- 
brier, where  he  spent  Sunday;  and  thence  by  the  Charleston 
and  Kanawha  turnpike  to  Charleston.  The  route  was  ex- 
ceedingly wild  and  picturesque,  and  on  reaching  the  end 
of  his  journey  he  wrote  to  his  wife  : 

"  Charli    i"\.  Va.,  September  9,  1857. 

"MY  Dl  IREST  ANN:  After  a  long,  hot,  dusty  stage- 
travel  I  reached  this  place  in  good  health,  safe  and  sound.  I 
failed  to  reach  I'arkersburg  on  Sabbath,  by  taking  the  wrong 
road  at  Richmond.  As  things  turned  out,  the  mishap  did 
not  make  much  difference.  It  gave  me  an  opportunity  of  vis- 
iting the  White  Sulphur  Springs,  the  great  resort  of  all  the 
Southern  people.  I  spent  the  Sabbath  there,  and  on  Monday 
took  the  stage  for  this  place.  Such  a  world  of  mountains  I 
hardly  ever  saw  before  ;  there  is  no  room  for  any  more.  I 
have  nature  in  her  majesty — wild,  grand,  awful.     If  I 

take  notes  I  must  try  to  describe  some  of  the  sights. 

"On  the  stage  I  had  charge  of  a  man  deranged.  He 
gave  me  some  trouble,  and  excited  my  sympathies  very 
much.      I  will  tell  you  all  about  it  when  we  meet. 


1857.] 


Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce. 


327 


"  Bishop  Early  has  been  very  ill — is  yet  sick,  and  I  fear 
will  not  be  able  to  hold  his  Conference.  If  he  is  not,  I  shall 
not  get  home  as  soon  as  I  expected,  by  a  week  or  two.  I 
have  not  heard  from  him  on  the  subject.  He  may  get  up 
and  go  on  with  his  work.     I  hope  he  will. 

"  The  preacher  has  given  me  a  room  at  a  hotel — a  first- 
rate  place.      Hope  we  shall  have  a  quiet,  happy  session. 


JOHN    EARLY,    D.D.,    BISHOP. 


"  It  is  very  dry  in  this  region.  The  days  are  hot  and  the 
nights  very  cold.  One  night  in  the  stage  I  wore  my  overcoat 
and  blanket,  and  found  them  comfortable. 

"Oh,  if  I  could  hear  from  you  all  this  morning  ;  but  I 
cheer  myself  with  the  idea  that  you  are  all  well,  and  moving 
about  as  usual.     Remember  me  when  you  pray. 

"  As  ever,  yours, 

"G.  F.  P." 


328  Life  tin  J  Times  of  George  F.  Pierre.         [Chap.  xn. 

This  West  Virginia  Conference  had  very  peculiar  diffi- 
culties to  contend  with  ;  although  in  Virginia,  Charleston  was 
over  three  hundred  miles  from  Richmond,  and  Parkersburg 
was  still  more  remote.  The  people  were  decidedly  mixed, 
some  of  them  Virginians  of  the  olden  time  ;  many  of  them  de- 
scendants of  Germans,  many  were  Ohio  and  Northern  people, 
who  had  n«>  special  fondness  for  Southern  slavery  or  its  ways. 
The  eastern,  and  much  of  the  northern,  part  of  the  country 
was  in  the  Baltimore  Conference,  which  aimed  to  be  neutral  on 
the  question  of  slavery,  while  that  part  nearest  Pennsylvania 
and  (  >hio  was  outspokenly  hostile  to  slavery  in  all  its  phases. 
There  was  a  small  band  of  very  devoted  preachers  and  mem- 
bers who  adhered  to  the  Southern  Church.  Methodism  un- 
divided was  by  no  means  strong,  but  when  divided  it  was 
Largely  at  a  disadvantage,  and  it  was  sadly  divided  at  this 
time,  and  has  been  so  ever  since  that  day.  The  fact  of  the 
Southern  affinities  of  this  Conference,  however,  drew  much 
outside  support  to  it.  and  when  Bishop  Pierce  came  to  the 
aristocratic  and  stately  old  town  of  Charleston,  the  leading 
families,  without  regard  to  church  affiliations,  flocked  to  hear 
him.  He  succeeded  in  getting  a  large  subscription  to  build 
a  church,  and  established  Southern  Methodism  in  Charleston 
on  a  firm  footing.  He  preached  at  Maiden,  where  the  great 
salt  wells  were,  and  then  went  thence  by  Buffalo  and  Mays- 
ville  toSmithland.  Ky.,  where  he  held  the  Kentucky  Confer- 
ence.     He  wrote  Ella  from  Maysville  : 

"Maysvillb,  September  19,  1857. 
.  .  .  .  "The  Western  Virginia  Conference  was  a  great 
triumph  for  Southern  Methodism.  You  know  the  Northern 
Church  has  had  possession  of  the  country  ever  since  the  di- 
vision.  They  had  a  church  and  congregation,  while  we  had  to 
preach  in  the  Court-house,  and  had  but  few  friends  in  Chai 
ton.  On  Tuesday  last  the  Conference  adjourned  ;  the  people 
called  on  me  to  hold  a  meeting  at  night,  deliver  an  address, 
and  take  up  a  subscription  for  a  Southern  Church.  I  did  so. 
Of  course  I  had  to  define  our  position,  and  to  discuss  the  re- 


ANN,   MARY,  AND    A    FRIEND. 


i85?.]  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  329 

lation  of  the  two  churches  to  slavery.  I  never  won  such  a 
victory  in  my  life.  It  was  a  perfect  triumph.  I  got  the 
money  for  the  church  and  a  lot  to  build  it  on.  I  was  very 
careful  and  very  candid  in  what  I  said,  but  I  expect  I  shall 
appear  in  the  Northern  papers  as  a  beast  with  more  than 
seven  heads  and  ten  horns.  The  Northern  preachers  were  in 
great  trouble  next  day,  and  said  that  they  meant  to  hold  me 
responsible  for  the  excitement. 

"  I  have  been  greatly  blessed  in  speaking  and  preaching, 
and  never  made  a  better  impression  anywhere  in  my  life. 
Tell  your  mother  the  ladies  sent  me  several  bouquets,  and 
poured  innumerable  blessings  on  me.  The  preachers  I  meet 
seem  to  think  I  ought  to  stay  in  Georgia.  Well,  be  it  so. 
Write  to  me  at  Smithland,  Ky.  Kiss  Carrie  for  me  ;  do  not 
let  her  forget  me.  Oh  how  I  love  you  all,  and  how  happy  I 
would  be  to  stay  with  you.  But  my  lot  is  labor  and  separa- 
tion. What  is  the  prospect  for  cotton  ?  Give  me  all  the 
news.     God  bless  you.  Most  affectionately, 

"G.  F.  P." 

On  reaching  Smithland  he  wrote  to  his  wife  and  his  two 
little  girls,  Mary  and  Ann.  , 

"  Smithland,  Ky.,  October  6,  1857. 
"  My  Dear  Mary  and  Ann  :  Here  I  am  sitting  alone 
in  a  dark  room,  thinking  about  home  and  mother,  and  my 
sweet  little  girls.  So  I  thought  I  would  write  you  a  short 
letter  to  make  you  think  about  father.  Since  I  saw  you  I 
have  been  on  railroads,  stages,  and  steamboats,  over  moun- 
tains, rivers,  and  valleys.  Let  me  tell  you  what  I  saw  on  one 
of  the  steamboats.  For  the  first  time  in  my  life  I  saw  men 
and  women  dancing.  It  was  the  most  foolish,  silly-looking 
thing  I  ever  saw.  Perfectly  ridiculous.  I  hope  my  daughters 
will  always  have  too  much  sense  to  dance.  I  suppose  you 
are  both  going  to  school  again.  Are  you  learning  fast?  I 
hope  so.  You  miss  brother,  I  guess,  very  much.  Do  you 
come  home  to  dinner  ?     How  does  sweet  little  Carrie  come 


330  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.        [Chap.  XH 

on?  Does  Pierce  grow?  Does  mother  ever  kiss  hint? 
You  must  tell  Carrie  that  I  have  got  something  for  her,  and 
that  she  must  kiss  me  when  I  get  back.  Do  you  wish  me  to 
come  home  again  ?  I  wonder  if  you  ever  talk  about  father, 
when  you  are  by  yourselves.  Do  you  pray  for  me  every 
night  ?  I  think  you  do,  and  the  thought  of  it  makes  me 
glad.  The  Lord  has  been  very  good  to  me.  He  has  taken 
care  of  me  by  day  and  night,  on  land  and  water.  I  hope  to 
get  back  the  latter  part  of  next  week.  Then  I  will  see  who 
love-;  me  most.  Which  of  you  will  give  me  the  first  kiss? 
Tell  sister  Ella  she  must  come  over  on  Saturday  the  17th. 
I  hope  to  get  home  by  that  time.  I  do  not  know  which  way 
I  will  come  yet.  I  must  stop  and  see  Claudia,  I  reckon. 
When  docs  the  fair  come  on  ?  What  are  you  all  going  to 
show  ? 

"  Well,  I  must  stop  now.  lie  good  children,  and  the 
Lord  will  bless  y<  u. 

"  Your  affectionate  fath 

"  G.  F.  P." 

To  his  wife  : 

iitiii. and,  October  6,  1857. 

"  Yours  of  the  14th  of  September  was  received  to-day. 
I  got  a  letter  from  Lovick,  dated  the  l6th,  at  Lexington.  So 
you  see  your  epistle  can  hardly  be  regarded  as  news  from 
home.  Surely  I  shall  hear  from  you  again  this  week.  It 
would  greatly  relieve  my  feelings  to  hear  from  you  all  more 
frequently.  I  write  and  write,  but  seldom  hear  from  you.  I 
do  not  blame  you,  but  the  wretched  mail  arrangements  of  the 
country.  I  left  Louisville  last  Friday  evening  on  the  Red 
Wing,  came  down  to  Henderson,  a  town  on  the  Ohio  River, 
spent  the  Sabbath,  preached  twice,  and  yesterday  morning 
early  took  passage  on  the  Princess  for  this  place.  Arrived 
last  night  about  11  o'clock,  fought  the  mosquitoes  all  night, 
slept  very  little,  and  feel  rather  so-so  to-day.  Conference 
begins  to-morrow.  Hope  to  get  through  by  next  Monday 
night,  and  then  to  start  home.  I  am  afraid  I  shall  have 
trouble   in  getting  off.     The   Cumberland   is  so  low  that   no 


1857-]        •        Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  331 

boats  are  running  to  Nashville.  The  stage  is  tri-vveekly,  and 
I  may  be  detained  a  day  or  two  after  Conference.  This  will 
be  hard  to  bear.  However,  it  is  very  cloudy  and  looks  like 
it  might  rain  soon.  If  the  river  rises  I  shall  likely  have  no 
difficulty.  You  may  look  for  me  on  the  17th  or  18th.  This 
is  my  calculation  now.  I  shall  try  hard  to  carry  it  out.  I 
am  as  anxious  to  get  home  as  if  I  had  been  gone  four  months. 
If  it  were  not  that  I  am  kept  busy  in  one  way  and  another,  I 
should  be  sad  enough.  But  I  have  no  time  for  vain  thoughts. 
Preach,  speak,  preside,  or  receive  visits  all  the  time.  I  am 
here  in  a  large  fine  room,  have  not  been  to  the  table  yet  and 
cannot  say  much  of  my  accommodation.  The  family  seem 
kind.  Dr.  Hamilton  is  staying  with  me  ;  Drs.  Stevenson  and 
Sehon  are  to  be  here  also — a  pleasant  company.  Tell  Ran- 
som it  is  time  the  hogs  were  in  the  pea-field.  I  hope  he  has 
found  the  six  lost  ones.  I  will  write  again.  Tell  Mary  and 
Ann  I  will  write  to  them  to-day.     Heaven  bless  you  all. 

"  Most  affectionately, 

"G.  F.  P." 

The  Kentucky  Conference,  over  which  he  presided,  was, 
like  the  West  Virginia,  on  the  border,  and  was,  like  it,  dis- 
turbed by  contending  factions,  but  not  to  the  same  extent. 
It  included  in  its  boundaries  a  large  part  of  Eastern  Ken- 
tucky, in  which  was  that  matchless  land  called  the  Blue 
Grass  Country,  where  all  was  elegance,  and  in  which  were 
mountain  districts  where  the  work  was  as  hard  as  it  had  been 
in  the  days  of  Asbury.  To  supply  such  a  work  demands 
great  skill  and  care,  but  the  good  sense  and  kind  heart  of  the 
young  bishop  stood  him  well  in  place. 

He  now  turned  his  face  toward  home,  and  preached  at 
Culverton  the  next  Sunday.  He  left  home  in  November  for 
Elizabeth  City,  N.  C,  where  the  Virginia  Conference  met. 
On  his  way  he  wrote  to  his  wife  : 

"  November  14,  1857. 
"  Thus  far  I  have  come  without  accident.      On  Saturday 
I  reached  Weldon,  and  found  Dr.  W.  A.  Smith  on  his  way  to 


332  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.         [Cqap.  xij. 

a  two  days'  meeting  in  the  country.  So  I  turned  aside  and 
went  with  him.  Yesterday  I  preached  in  an  old  country 
church,  where  I  guess  a  bishop  never  preached  before.  I  was 
quite  a  show.  The)-  seemed  very  much  gratified.  I  am  go- 
ing down  this  evening  near  the  place  where  we  are  to  take- 
steamboat  for  Elizabeth  City.  I  am  afraid  I  am  to  have 
trouble  in  both  Conferences  with  trials  and  law-points;  I  can 
only  do  my  l>cst. 

••  I  hope  you  and  Ella  have  received  the  articles  from  Au- 
gusta. I  trust,  too,  the\-  will  please.  Of  course  I  had  to 
confide  everything  to  Beauty's  *  taste  and  judgment.  She 
is  better  informed  in  women's  '  fixins  '  than  I. 

"  If  the  cotton  can  be  carried  to  the  gin,  the  potatoes  had 
better  be  put  into  the  cotton-house,  and  covered  with  seed 
— as  I  was  telling  Ransom  about- — two  or  three  inches  deep  at 
the  bottom,  and  eight  or  ten  inches  thick  over  the  pile. 

"  I  feel  very  anxious  to  hear  from  (  ).xford.  I  am  less  and 
less  inclined  to  go.  The  more  I  think,  the  more  I  hope  they 
will  fail,  and  give  it  up.  I  am  satisfied  it  will  be  best.  My 
mind  revolts  at  the  idea  of  going  under  the  circumstances. 
Ifyoif  are  applied  to  on  the  subject,  I  hope  you  will  discour- 
it.  You  know  my  views  and  feelings  on  the  whole  mat- 
ter. I  have  looked  them  all  over  as  1  rode  along,  and  un- 
deliberate conclusion  i-,  that  with  the  uncertainties  of  sup- 
port before  us,  we  had  better  stay  where  we  can  make  some- 
thing to  cat.  I  shall  look  for  a  letter  from  you  this  week. 
Dr.  Smith  sends  his  respects.  Kiss  the  children  for  me. 
Love  to  all. 

"  Most  affectionately. 

"G.  F.  P." 

The  Virginia  Conference  met  in  Elizabeth  City,  N.  C, 
and  after  its  adjournment  he  presided  over  the  North  Caro- 
lina. It  met  in  Goldsboro',  then  a  comparatively  small  vil- 
lage. The  church  could  not  hold  the  immense  congrega- 
tion which  assembled  to  hear  him,  and  a  railroad  warehouse 

•  Mrs.  Dr.  Mann,  his  sister  Julia. 


1857.] 


Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce. 


333 


was  secured.  He  had  but  begun  his  sermon  when  a  railroad 
train  came  rushing  in  and  he  stopped  ;  he  began  again,  and 
the  train  from  the  South  broke  him  up.  He  began  again,  and 
sat  down  with  his  face  flushed  from  a  sudden  and  alarming 
vertigo,  but  finally  concluded  the  service. 

He  returned  home  and  went  to  Mansfield,  in  Upper  Louis- 
iana, and  presided  over  the  vigorous  young  Conference.      It 


BISHOP   J.    C.    KEENER,    D.D. 

was  remarkable  that  he  appointed  at  this  time  three  men  who 
were  afterward  Bishops — Dr.  Keener,  Dr.  McTyiere,  and 
Linns  Parker.  While  in  Mansfield  he  wrote  to  his  daughter 
Claude,  who  was  in  college  : 

"  Mansfield,  La.,  February  3,  1858. 
"  My  Dearest  Claude  :  You  are  a  little  disposed  in  a 
modest  way  to  complain  of  my  not  writing  to  you  as  often  as 
you  think  I  might,  or  perhaps  to  make  it  stronger,  as  I  ought. 


334  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.        t°HAP-  xn 

The  question  is  one  that  may  be  debatable.  Something 
might  be  said  on  both  sides.  Doubtless  you  could  talk 
fluently,  and  by  dropping  a  tear  or  two,  as  though  you  were 
badly  treated,  might  make  out  a  strong  case  to  an  outsider. 
On  the  other  hand,  I  could  tell  of  business  and  company  and 
travel,  and  show  that  it  is  really  wonderful  that  I  find  time 
to  write  to  you  at  all.  The  verdict  of  an  impartial  jury  would 
be,  I  think,  about  this  :  The  bishop  must  love  his  daughter 
Claudia  very  much,  or  he  could  not  take  time  to  write  to  her 
amid  all  his  engagements.  Well,  let  that  pass.  This  is  my 
birthday,  I  am  forty  seven.  The  meridian  of  life  is  passed.  I 
am  growing  old.  Gray  hairs  are  coming  thick  and  fast.  Eyes 
that  have  served  me  well  are  beginning  to  grow  dim.  Soon, 
if  time  endures,  I  shall  be  a  withered  old  man.  Who  will 
care  for  me  then  ?  In  the  meantime  let  me  confess  the  good- 
of  God.  I  have  been  blessed  in  every  way— at  home, 
in  public,  in  health,  and  freedom  from  affliction  in  my  wife 
and  my  children.  Oh  that  men  would  praise  the  Lord  for 
his  goodness.  Transported  with  the  view  I  am  lost  in 
wonder,  love,  and  praise. 

••  Now  1  have  reached  that  point  when  the  old  begin  to 
live  life  over  in  their  children.  Few  men  love  their  children 
as  I  do.  I  am  bound  up  in  them  and  with  them.  They  are 
my  life.  If  they  do  well,  I  prosper,  if  they  were  to  do 
wickedly  the  charm  of  life  would  be  gone,  the  last  light  of 
earth  would  go  out  and  leave  me  in  the  gloom  of  utter  sor- 
row. God  of  mercy,  save  them  from  evil.  Let  my  son  be 
honorable,  good,  useful.  My  daughters  tender,  pure,  and 
piou>.  Amen  and  amen  !  A  word  of  advice  to  Claudia. 
She  expects  one  day  to  marry.  Do  not  be  in  haste  to  love 
and  to  be  engaged.  While  you  know  but  few  you  might  se- 
lect one  whom  a  wider  acquaintance  would  satisfy  you 
not  your  equal.  Very  young  girls  are  not  apt  to  marry 
wisely.  Wait,  learn  to  think  as  well  as  to  feci,  to  judge  char- 
acter as  well  as  to  admire  personal  appearance.  Now  you 
might  pick  up  some  young,  inexperienced  man,  clever,  per- 
haps, but  no  mind,  never  likely  to  attain  position  in  society 


Ig57.]  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  335 

by  talent  or  enterprise  or  any  thing  that  distinguishes  him 
from  the  mass.  How  would  you  like  to  sink  into  obscurity  ? 
'  There  is  luck  in  leisure,'  saith  the  old  proverb.  Haste  pre- 
cedes repentance.  You  may,  you  ought  to  do  well.  He  pa- 
tient, study,  learn,  graduate,  come  home,  read,  travel,  think, 
write,  grow  into  a  rational  being  with  some  ideas  beyond  the 
circumference  of  a  hoop.  Come  home,  be  a  companion  for 
your  mother  and  me.  Let  us  enjoy  your  society  for  a  season, 
if  the  Lord  will.  But  enough.  It  is  cold,  wet ;  rain,  hail,  and 
snow  to-day. 

"  God  bless  you  ever  more. 

"  As  ever, 

"G.  F.  P." 

He  thus  closed  his  first  quadriennium  of  episcopal  labor. 
He  did  not  servilely  follow  the  precedents  set  him  by  the 
bishops  who  had  gone  before,  in  his  conduct  of  Conference 
affairs.  He  was  much  more  rapid  in  his  conduct  of  Confer- 
ence business  than  they  had  been.  He  was  not  rigid  in  his 
adherence  to  the  rules  of  order,  but  kept  the  Conference 
under  proper  control.  He  recognized  the  fact  that  the  main 
work  of  the  bishop  is  to  make  the  appointments,  and  he 
did  this  work  carefully,  prayerfully,  courageously,  and,  in  the 
main,  satisfactorily.  This  was  a  matter  of  great  solicitude  to 
him.  He  knew  how  much  a  preacher's  interests  were  involved 
in  his  decisions,  and  how  heavy  oftentimes  the  burden  would 
be,  lighten  it  as  much  as  he  could.  The  bishop  had  but  little 
patience  with  whining ;  and  that  complaint  which  came  when 
there  was  merely  inconvenience  imposed,  or  when  mere  taste 
and  preference  were  denied  gratification,  found  in  him  little 
sympathy  ;  but  when  he  knew  that  the  preacher  and  his  fam- 
ily must  needs  have  real  privation,  and  he  knew  he  could  not 
prevent  it,  that  was  what  touched  his  tender  heart  in  its 
tenderest  place.  He  gave  many  a  severe  appointment,  but 
never  one  that  he  could  by  any  means  avoid.  Patiently  he 
listened  to  the  humblest  man  of  the  Conference  ;  and,  if  he 
could,  he  always  lifted  the  load.    During  his  first  tour  in  Texas 


336  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.         [Ohab.  xii. 

he  made  an  appointment  which  seemed  to  him  the  best  he 
could  do,  but  which  he  knew  was  a  severe  one.  The  brother 
came  to  him  in  tears.  "  Bishop,"  he  said,  "  you  have  ruined 
me.  My  wife  is  sick  in  bed  ,  she  cannot  move  ;  you  have  sent 
me  a  hundred  and  fifty  miles  to  go  by  wagon  over  bad  roads. 
I  can't  get  there  ;  and  I  do  not  know  what  I  will  do." 

The  bishop  consoled  him  as  best  he  could,  but  he  was 
greatly  troubled  himself  by  his  brother's  affliction.  He  went 
his  way  with  the  burden.  At  the  next  Conference  he  met  the 
ruined  man,  well  dressed,  bright,  cheerful  ;  he  came  to  the 
bishop:  "Well,  sir,  I  am  the  man  you  ruined;  the  people 
sent  for  me,  my  wife  made  the  journey,  got  well,  and  I  was 
r  so  well  fixed  in  my  life."  The  bishop  had  no  easy  time 
of  it,  and  he  had  found,  as  Bishop  Kavanaugh  remarked,  that 
the  office  of  a  bishop  is  good  work  and  a-plenty  of  it. 

II  resolved  not  to  remove  to  Memphis,  at  which  he  was 
offered  a  home,  but  to  remain  in  the  country  and  return  to 
Sunshine,  to  get  ready  for  the  General  Conference  in  May. 

Bishop  Pierce  at  this  time  was  forty-seven  years  old. 
form  was  majestic.  He  bore  himself  royally.  His  eye 
was  black  and  sparkling;  his  check  glowed  with  the  red  hue 
of  p  ilth.     His  every  movement  was  graceful.     His 

voice  was  clear  and  melodious.  I  can  give  but  little  idea  of 
hi->  wonderful  power  as  a  pulpit  orator.  Whether  he  was  be- 
fore the  most  cultured  or  before  the  plainest  audience  he  was 
alike— a  master.  He  preached  in  a  marble  church  with  all 
the  case  with  which  he  preached  to  a  congregation  of  negro 
slaves,  and  he  preached  to  the  slaves  with  as  much  fervor  and 
power  and  beauty,  as  to  the  great  men  of  the  earth.  He  took 
his  place  at  the  head  of  the  preachers  of  the  land  at  the  first, 
and  he  never  lost  it.  To  the  last  he  could  crowd  any  church 
in  city  or  coiintr\-.  He  seemed  all  unconscious  of  the  praise 
bestowed.  Out  of  the  pulpit  he  was  as  simple  and  as  un- 
affected and  unambitious  as  a  child.  I  lis  old  friend,  Dr.  J. 
R.  Thomas,  now.of  California,  says  of  him: 

"  His  mind  was  not  only  broad  and  strong,  but  it  pos- 
sessed an  element  of  rebound  which  was  always  greater  than 


1857-3  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  337 

any  pressure  laid  upon  it.  His  mind  was  like  one  of  those 
well-constructed  arches  in  masonry,  whose  strength  is  in- 
creased always  in  proportion  to  the  weight  upon  it — ever 
growing  stronger  as  the  weight  becomes  heavier. 

"  If  Bishop  Pierce  was  great  intellectually,  he  was  still 
greater  in  the  moral  elements  of  his  general  make-up.  He 
was  noble  by  nature,  unselfish,  frank,  simple-hearted,  modest, 
courteous,  sympathetic,  slow  to  resent,  always  ready  to  for- 
give ;  as  a  friend,  faithful ;  as  a  companion,  genial  and  enter- 
taining ;  in  the  social  circle,  affable  and  pleasant,  without  the 
least  effort  at  display ;  perfectly  at  home  among  the  great, 
and  to  the  lowly  polite  and  even  condescending.  I  never 
saw  him  out  of  temper  ;  I  do  not  remember  to  have  heard 
him  utter  one  word  of  bitterness  against  any  living  man. 
In  the  vast  outlay  of  toil  to  which  we  have  referred,  his  mo- 
tives were  above  suspicion." 

For  forty-five  years  zeal  for  Christ  and  love  for  souls  kept 
him  steadily  in  motion.  That  he  was  ambitious  to  show 
himself  a  workman  approved,  there  can  be  no  question  ;  but 
only  that  he  might  thereby  be  useful. 

One  of  the  most  marvellous  things  is  that  his  immense 
popularity,  his  rapid  promotion,  and  the  frightful  avalanche 
of  praises,  coming  from  every  quarter,  did  not  in  the  least 
spoil  him.  To  the  last  he  was  the  same  humble,  unpretend- 
ing, simple-hearted  man. 

Dr.  Thomas,  who  was  with  him  much,  says  of  the 
preacher : 

"  This  gifted  orator  was  blessed  with  the  most  spiritual 
face  I  ever  looked  upon  ;  his  voice  mellow,  its  highest  tones 
musical  and  suppliant,  his  style  direct,  his  metaphors  novel 
and  striking,  and  his  illustrations  pertinent,  having  the  effect 
of  an  argument  upon  the  minds  of  his  hearers.  His  dis- 
courses were  supported  by  frequent  scriptural  quotations, 
and  as  he  handled  the  lofty  themes  of  the  cross,  when  his 
persuasive  melting  pathos  became  enkindled  to  a  pitch  of 
rapture  under  the  exaltation  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  one  could 
not   help   feeling  that  through  the   preacher   he   heard  the 


338  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.        [Chap.  xii. 

world's   Redeemer  pleading  with  the  sinners  for  whom  He 
died. 

'•  l'.ishop  Pierce  did  not  much  indulge  in  formal  dialectics 
and  scholastic  disquisition.  In  this  he  patterned  after  his 
'  divine  teacher.'  But  every  sermon  was  a  volume  on  Chris- 
tian evidences.  The  power  that  he  had  with  him  not  only 
endorsed  his  divine  commission,  but  illustrated  and  verified 
the  promise  of  the  Saviour:  'Lo,  I  am  with  you  always,  even 
to  the  end  of  the  earth.'" 

Coming  out  of  the  pulpit  in  Sparta,  an  old  negro  came  to 
him  with  streaming  eyes,  caught  his  hand  and  said,  "  Oh, 
Mars  George,  you  do  preach  so  good." 

There  never  was  a  moment  after  he  was  chosen  that  there 
was  any  regret  felt  that  lie  had  been  selected  as  bishop,  and 
whenever  the  Georgia  preachers  knew,  and  I  can  speak  for 
them,  that  Bishop  Pierce  said,  "Go!"  it  ended  the  contr.  - 
versy;  it  was  enough,  hi  said  so. 

Hi-  home  life  grew  more  and  more  delightful  as  the  years 
sped  on  ;  burdened  as  he  was  with  debt,  it  was  not  a  hope- 
less involvement,  but  only  an  embarrassment  which  was  tem- 
porary, and  did  not  involve  his  good  name,  and  one  from 
which  he  extricated  himself  in  a  icw  years.  He  had  in  a 
bright,  cheerful,  happy  wife,  and  in  daughters  so  affection- 
ate, and  in  a  son  who  was  so  promising,  and  in  a  beautiful, 
simple  home,  SO  many  things  to  make  his  home  life  attractive 
that  it  was  no  wonder  that  he  used  to  say,  when  urged  to 
take  a  tour  or  seek  change,  that  the  best  tour  to  him  was  the 
one  to  his  home;  that  he  wanted  no  other  change  but  that. 
He  went  to  Nashville  in  May,  1858  ;  thus  began  his  second 
quadriennium  as  bishop. 


CHAPTER    XIII. 

EPISCOPAL  JOURNEYINGS,  1858,  AGED  47. 

General  Conference  at  Nashville — Letter  to  Ella — Off  to  St.  Louis — Call 
at  Nashville — Bishop  Soule — The  Stage-coach— The  Nodding  Pas- 
senger— At  St.  Louis — Off  to  Memphis — Over  a  Snag — Wearisome 
Delay — A  Turkey-hunt — The  Shreveport  Ferryman — The  Georgia 
Host — A  Feast — Musical  Stage  Driver — Swimming — Preaching  in  the 
Country — Crying  Babies — East  Texas  Conference — Panic  in  a  Church 
and  Stampede — Brother  Whipple — Lay  Co-operation — The  Bishop's 
Views — Letter  to  Claude — Letter  to  Ann — Marvels  of  Texas — Mount 
Wonder— Homeward — Delays — Night  on  the  Gulf — Just  in  Time — 
The  Georgia  Conference — The  Itinerancy — Letter  to  Claude. 

The  General  Conference  which  met  in  Nashville  in  1858 
was  an  uneventful  one.  The  Book  Concern  had  been  estab- 
lished, the  amount  due  from  the  M.  E.  Church  had  been  col- 
lected and  disposed  of,  there  were  no  radical  movements 
proposed,  and  the  merely  routine  work  was  rapidly  done. 

The  bishop  had  done  his  work  faithfully  for  this  first 
quadriennium,  and  there  was  no  complaint  made  against  him. 
The  bishop  had  little  use  for  legislation,  and  believed  the 
fewer  the  General  Conferences,  and  the  less  tinkering  with 
laws  the  better,  and  he  turned  away  from  the  great  assembly 
toward  Sunshine  and  his  loved  ones. 

He  wrote  to  Ella  on  the  nth. 

"  Nashville,  May  11,  1858. 
"  My  Dearest  Ella  :  Your  welcome  letter  came  this 
morning,  just  in  time  to  prevent  my  doing  a  very  unkind 
thing.  I  had  waited  for  a  letter  until  my  patience  was  ex- 
hausted and  I  felt  that  I  was  forgotten.  So  I  sat  down  and 
wrote  a  very  crusty  letter.     Now  I   will  tear  it  up  and  try 


340  Life  and   Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.       t,,,,A1'  xm- 

again.  Your  birthday  has  come  and  gone,  I  could  not  be 
present  to  celebrate  it  with  you.  But  I  am  glad  you  remem- 
bered it  with  a  grateful  heart.  It  may  add  something  to 
your  pleasure  to  know  that  I  remembered  you  among  the 
good  things  with  which  Providence  has  endowed  me.  From 
your  birth  morning  tu  this  hour  I  have  counted  you  among  my 
treasures.  I  have  always  felt  that  you  inherited  and  would 
receive  through  life  the  blessing  of  Heaven.  May  you  live 
long  and  be  happy  as  now.  and  even  more.  To  this  end  cul- 
tivate your  religious  feelings,  meet  also  the  duties  of  life 
promptly  and  with  prayer  for  divine  aid.  Be  an  example  to 
your  children,  and  try  to  be  useful  in  the  Church.  May  the 
benediction  of  Heaven  rest  on  you  and  yours  forever.  May 
your  children  be  to  you  as  you  have  been  to  me,  a  source  of 
comfort,  and  perpetuate  in  themselves  the  virtues  which  adorn 
their  mother,  my  first  bom,  my  darling  Ella.  Tell  John  to 
write  quick  and  tell  me  the  prospects  of  Sunshine.  I  hope 
the  turkeys  will  live  and  thrive.  A  broiled  chicken  for  break- 
fast will  be  very  acceptable  when  I  get  back. 

"  I)  i  you  -,re't  the  Daily t  I  sent  it  to  John.  T/iat  con- 
tains all  the  Conference  news.  I  will  write  to  your  mother 
to-morrow.  Kiss  Carrie  for  me.  Tell  her  grandfather  thinks  of 
her  every  day  and  wants  to  see  her  very  much.  Ki^s  Mollie 
and  Ann  for  me,  and  tell  them  to  study  hard  and  learn  fast. 

'  Unless  the\-  make  a  new  bishop  I  think  I  am  good  for 
California.  The  plan  is  for  the  bishop  who  goes  there  to  stay 
a  year.  If  I  go,  y<>ur  mother  will  have  to  go,  if  I  can  raise 
the  wind.      Heaven  directs  in  all  things." 

Bishop  Pierce  preached  every  Sunday  during  the  Con- 
ference session,  but  he  sought  out  the  smaller  appointments 
near  the  city.  He  preached  at  Hobson's  Chapel,  Columbia, 
and  Franklin.  He  returned  home  in  good  time  and  then 
visited  the  camp-meetings  near  by,  and  in  September  began 
his  journey  to  the  West,  of  which  he  has  given  us  so  pleasant 
an  account  in  his  "  Notes  by  the  Way,"  written  for  the 
Southern  Christian  Advocate. 


1S5S.]  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  341 

"  On  September  28th,  1858,  I  left  home  for  St.  Louis. 
Business  with  the  Book  Agent  and  other  notabilities  of  the 
Publishing  House  inclined  me  to  go  by  Nashville.  Withal, 
our  venerable  friend,  Bishop  Soule,  was  reported  ill  ;  I  desired 
to  see  him  and  to  talk  with,  or  rather,  to  hear  him  talk  once 
more  of  the  Church,  her  duties,  wants,  responsibilities,  and 
prospects.  I  found  him  improving  in  health,  but  very  fee- 
ble. To  see  his  majestic  form  shrunken,  trembling,  and  tot- 
tering, as  for  its  final  fall,  was  sadly  touching  ;  but  his  pa- 
tient faith,  rejoicing  hope,  and  meek  humility  were  'grand, 
inspiring.  How  good  to  be  there,  for  in  the  tabernacle  of 
the  old  soldier  the  great  captain  of  our  common  salvation 
was  present.  The  physical  infirmities  of  old  age  lie  heavy 
upon  our  senior  bishop  :  his  days  of  active  service  are  past ; 
but  his  yet  vigorous  mind  thinks  and  plans  for  the  Church  in 
which  he  has  labored  so  long  and  usefully  ;  and  with  an  eye 
open  to  all  that  is  faulty  or  threatening,  he  looks  forward  to 
future  prosperity  and  triumph.  It  is  strengthening  to  one's 
faith  in  the  mission  of  Methodism  to  hear  one  of  the  fathers 
of  our  ecclesiastical  economy  (himself  wise,  sagacious,  far- 
seeing,  all  the  events  of  the  past  fresh  in  his  memory)  des- 
canting, with  buoyant  spirits,  of  the  days  to  come  and  the 
glory  to  be  revealed.  It  is  a  providential  boon  to  the  Church 
that  our  old  men  linger  among  us,  to  tell  us  of  the  past,  warn 
of  innovation — the  danger  of  new  ways  and  the  wisdom  and 
safety  of  the  old  paths.  More  especially  are  we  favored  in 
that  these  venerable  brethren  are  not  croakers,  forever  cry- 
ing, amid  sighs,  lamentations,  and  evil  prophecies,  'the  for- 
mer days  were  better  than  these  ; '  but  keeping  pace  with  the 
world  in  its  rush  of  thought  and  enterprise,  and  fully  per- 
suaded of  the  enduring  vitality  of  our  economy  as  a  Church, 
and  of  its  capability  of  expansion  and  adjustment  to  the  de- 
mands of  a  progressive  and  extending  civilization,  still  main- 
tain a  cheerful  sympathy  with  the  young,  the  active,  and  the 
rising  workmen  of  the  Lord.  '  A  green  old  age  '  is  beautiful 
always  ;  but  in  a  veteran  minister,  besides  the  poetry  of  sen- 
timent, there  is  the  sanctity  of  long,  holy  service,  the  honor 


342  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.       [Chap.  xiii. 

of  fidelity  and  the  immortal  hopes,  which,  like  imprisoned 
odors,  make  his  presence  fragrant  and  give  promise  of  blos- 
soms from  the  dust,  to  make  his  company  attractive  and  im- 
pressive. 

"  The  Nashville  and  Louisville  Railroad  being  as  yet  un- 
finished, and  the  Cumberland  too  low  for  navigation,  I  took 
the  stage  for  the  terminus  of  the  railroad,  one  hundred  and 
thirty  miles  distant.  With  pleasant  company  and  a  fine 
turnpike,  my  progress,  though  slow,  was  agreeable.  On  the 
second  night,  on  the  wayside,  a  company  of  ladies  and  gen- 
tleman from  South  Carolina,  on  a  visit  to  the  Mammoth  Cave, 
sought  admission  to  our  already  crowded  vehicle.  Resign- 
ing my  berth  to  a  lady,  I  took  deck  passage,  as  did  several 
others.  On  these  Kentucky  and  Tennessee  coaches  there  is 
a  seat  behind  and  above  the  driver  for  the  accommodation 
of  three,  while  the  unappropriated  portion  oithc  top  will  take 
as  many  more  as  are  inclined  to  lie  down  or  hang  upon  the 
side.  In  mild,  open  weather  these  elevations  are  not  un- 
comfortable, till  the  '  short  hours  '  of  the  night  come  on  ;  then 
nodding  is  dangerous,  and  the  feeling  of  insecurity,  as  nod 
must,  disquiets  you  not  a  little.  Among  some  seven  or 
eight  of  us  silence  had  long  reigned,  when  one  of  the  com- 
pany who  had  nodded  nearly  to  his  fall  several  times,  at  last 
cried  out,  '1  entlemen,  talk  about  something.'      Cuba 

and  its  annexation  was  proposed  and  discussed.  Our  fellow- 
lirly  waked  up.  In  the  midst  of  the  conver- 
sation a  little  black  cloud  which  had  hung  for  miles  upon  the 
horizon,  rushed  up  the  sky  and  began  to  discharge  itself  piti- 
lessly upon  us  poor  outsiders.  Just  then  '  the  stand  '  was 
reached  and  the  ladies  left  us,  with  many  thanks  for  our 
Courtesy,  but  not  half  so  grateful  as  we  were  about  that  time 
for  inside  seats.  This  change  was  freighted  with  a  double 
blessing — dry  clothes  and  a  chance  to  sleep.  Cuba  was  left 
in  possession  of  Spain,  and  the  talkers  and  the  listeners  all 
surrendered  '  to  tired  Nature's  sweet  restorer.'  By  and  by 
we  reached  the  cars,  and  after  a  long  and  vexations  deten- 
ti  >n  we  resumed  our  onward  motion. 


1858-]  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  343 

"  How  exhilarating  the  speed  of  the  iron-horse  after  jog- 
ging with  panting  steeds  and  tardy  steps  for  a  hundred  miles 
and  more.  Away  we  go  :  it  is  delightful.  What  now  ?  We 
have  stopped  suddenly  and  in  a  very  awkward  place.  The 
tender  is  off  the  track  and  has  been  for  a  quarter  of  a  mile, 
and  several  things,  important  to  the  trucks  and  springs,  have 
been  dropped  along  the  way.  The  lost  must  be  found,  and 
the  displacements  all  rectified,  and  the  car  lifted  on  the  rail, 
ere  we  move  again.  Patience  and  muscle  and  skill  are  all 
necessary  now  ;  at  last  the  work  is  done,  the  whistle  blows, 
and  we  speed  to  Louisville,  but  arrive  an  hour  or  more  be- 
hind time.  Having  but  an  hour  or  two  to  tarry,  I  stopped 
at  the  Gait  House  for  supper.  Meeting  with  Brother  Reid, 
of  the  Louisiana  Conference,  what  else  would  have  been  a 
feeling  of  solitariness  was  forestalled,  and  I  had  a  brother, 
well-beloved,  for  a  companion  half-way  to  St.  Louis.  To 
cross  the  Ohio  was  a  job  of  some  difficulty  in  the  darkness, 
as  we  had  to  ford  half  across  in  order  to  reach  the  ferry-boat. 
The  passage  was  effected  in  safety,  and  we  reached  the  train 
in  time. 

"  In  due  season,  without  accident  or  incident,  I  arrived  at 
St.  Louis,  and  found  a  home  at  Senator  Polk's  hospitable 
mansion.  Preached  twice  the  next  day  (the  Sabbath) ;  in  the 
morning  at  Asbury,  and  at  Centenary  at  night 

"The  St.  Louis  Conference  having  adjourned,  I  took 
steamboat  for  Memphis.  Dr.  Taylor,  the  Sunday-school 
Secretary,  and  Brother  Littlepage,  a  transfer  from  Missouri 
to  Texas,  were  my  travelling  companions.  It  was  near  night 
when  our  steamer  rounded  from  the  wharf  and  began  her 
passage  down  the  Father  of  Waters.  Supper  over,  the  pas- 
sengers distributed  themselves  according  to  their  affinities  and 
circumstances — some  to  sleep,  others  to  solitary  perambula- 
tions, a  few  to  card-playing,  while  the  doctor  and  myself 
betook  ourselves  to  letter-writing  ;  Brother  L.  sitting  by, 
deeply  engaged  with  Wightman's  '  Life  of  Capers.'  Presently 
a  shock  and  crash,  as  though  the  boat  had  run  head  foremost 
against  the  walls  of  old  Babylon,  startled  us  all.      The  crowd 


:U-4  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.       [Chap.  xiii. 

around  the  forward  stove  came  running  back  in  terror,  spread- 
ing a  panic  at  every  step.  Silent  from  extreme  terror,  they 
left  us  in  the  rear  to  imagine  the  worst.  There  was  a  general 
commotion  and  a  deal  of  unconnected  thinking  done  in  a  little 
time.  1  stood  still,  watching  the  motion  of  the  boat,  and  cal- 
culating the  chances  of  escape  if  she  gave  signs  of  sinking. 
To  my  great  relief  I  observed  that  she  kept  her  equilibrium, 
and  I  felt  that  she  was  moving,  but  rising.  My  acquaintance 
with  Western  navigation,  under  these  circumstances,  explained 
the  difficult)-.  We  had  struck  a  log,  and  after  the  first  shock 
from  the  collision,  the  momentum  of  the  boat  depressed  the  ob- 
struction, which  yet  was  strong  enough  to  raise  us  at  least 
three  feet  Out  of  the  water,  and  raked  us  literally  from  stem 
to  stern  as  we  parsed  over.  Fortunately  the  boat  was  new 
and  or  she  had  never  survived  such  a  shaking  and  such 

a  raking. 

"  We  reached  Memphis  in  the  night,  took  lodging  at  the 
Gayoso,and  in  the  morning  were  hurried  aboard  another  boat, 
bound  fur  New  (  Orleans.  1  'r.T.iylor  left  us,  to  go  to  the  Ten- 
nessee Conference.  The  boat  on  which  Brother  L.  and  my- 
self tool.  tily  in  the  morning,  was  going  to  start 
certainly  in  fifteen  minutes,  blew  her  whistle,  rung  her  bell, 
untied  a  :  two,  and  then  grew  quiet.  An  hour  or  two 
.  and  again  all  astir — now  we  start.  No,  not  yet. 
So  we  passed  the  day,  and  aty/:v  in  the  afternoon  the  wheels 
turned  again,  and  after  twelve  hours  of  disappointment  and 
mocker}-  and  deception  we  resumed  out  journey. 

"  The  yellow  fever  was  raging  at  various  points  on  the 
river,  and  to  avoid  it  we  left  the  boat  on  her  arrival  at  Gaines 
Landing.  We  went  ashore  at  two  in  the  morning,  and  after 
stumbling  about  in  the  darkness  for  aweary  spell,  found  accom- 
modations, so  called,  in  a  sort  of  a  hotel ;  took  stage  early  for 
Camden,  Ark.,  glad  to  depart,  albeit  the  Mississippi  bottom, 
with  its  causeways  and  bridges,  miles  in  length,  and  all  its  ups 
and  downs  i  and  their  name  is  legion)  had  to  be  crossed.  On  we 
went,  faring  as  well,  on  the  whole,  as  we  had  any  right  to  ex- 
pect    There  were  several  passengers,  each  of  whom  tried  to 


1858-3  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  345 

make  himself  agreeable,  and  among  them  an  old  gentleman 
from  California.  He  entertained  us  with  stories  about  the 
mines  and  '  the  grizzlies,'  as  he  called  them  ;  and  in  the  night 
added  to  our  amusement  by  a  rare  feat  of  his  own.  He  was 
old,  had  a  limb  once  broken,  which  had  been  badly  set,  and 
was  very  crooked,  making  his  gait  awkward  and  peculiar 
and  painful  to  the  observer.  He  was  the  last  man  from  whom 
one  would  anticipate  any  spry,  active  motion.  Between  mid- 
night and  day  conversation  had  ceased,  and  nodding  was  com- 
mon among  us.  The  old  gentleman  had  slept  fairly  and 
dreamed  vividly.  He  was  occupying  the  middle  seat,  and 
leaning  on  the  door  of  the  stage,  when,  all  at  once,  out  of  the 
window  he  went,  full  length  upon  the  ground.  Some  of  us 
cried  out  to  the  driver  to  stop  ;  the  old  man  sprang  up, 
laughing  most  heartily,  and,  resuming  his  seat,  he  told  us  he 
dreamed  that  he  was  walking  in  the  woods  and  was  sur- 
rounded by  a  flock  of  wild  turkeys,  and  being  anxious  to 
secure  one,  he  concluded  to  make  a  grab  at  a  large  old  gobbler. 
He  did  so,  and  found  himself  out  of  the  stage,  and  sprawling 
on  the  ground.  The  whole  scene  was  very  amusing,  and  his 
own  enjoyment  of  it  added  no  little  to  our  merriment.  On 
reaching  Camden  the  old  Californian  took  another  route  from 
mine,  and  on  bidding  him  farewell  I  expressed  the  wish  that  I 
might  meet  him  in  California,  and  hoped  he  would  have  bet- 
ter luck  in  his  next  turkey  hunt. 

tl  Finding  it  impracticable  to  take  any  of  the  regular  lines 
and  reach  my  appointments,  Brother  L.  and^  I  hired  a  hack, 
and  took  the  most  direct  route  for  Shreveport.  The  directions 
given  us  led  us  rather  across  the  country,  and  sometimes  we 
were  without  a  road  and  without  a  guide.  On  the  first  night 
we  fell  in  with  an  old  Georgia  friend  of  mine  (Rev.  William 
Crawford),  and  found  a  home  full  of  comfort. 

"Just  at  night-fall,  on  the  third  evening,  we  reached  the 
ferry  at  Shreveport.  Neither  love  nor  money  could  induce 
the  ferryman  to  take  us  over.  It  was  a  steam  ferry-boat,  he 
said  ;  he  had  tied  up  for  the  night,  the  lights  were  out,  and 
he  wished   to  go   into  town.     Importunity  availed  nothing. 


31G  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.       tCllAI>-  XIIL 

What  shall  we  do  ?  It  was  night — dark — had  been  raining — 
was  threatening  still — the  mud  was  deep,  red,  and  pitchy.  We 
must  try  once  more  to  overcome  the  man  of  the  boat.  We 
shbuted  to  him  again  and  again — no  answer  ;  he  had  grown 
dumb  as  well  as  unobliging.  Echo  herself  was  still.  By  and 
by  I  heard  the  sound  of  an  oar — it  drew  nearer,  and  at  last 
the  keel  of  a  skiff  grated  upon  the  sands.  A  negro  boatman 
had  heard  our  controversy  with  the  steamer,  and  appreciating 
our  dilemma  had  scented  good  pay  for  service.  After  mag- 
nifying our  difficulties  and  expressing  great  concern  for  our 
relief,  he  proposed  to  run  US  down  to  the  city  for  fifty  cents 
apiece.      We  struck  a  bargain,  and  were  landed  bag  and  b 

■  amid  rafts  and  mud,  and  by  an  extra  dime  or  two  at 
1  ist  found  our  way  to  the  hotel.  These  are  nice  arrange- 
ments !  at  inland  town,  aspiring  to  the  dignity  of  a 
city — th  *  of  the  finest  cotton  region  in  the  Re- 
public.     There  ought  to  be  a  reformation. 

"  In  the  m>rning  we  expected  to  take  the  stage  to  Mar- 
shall, but  found  the  line  a  tri-weekly  one,  and  must  lie  over 
ther  arrangements.  Once  more  we  hired 
a  hack,  or  rather,  bought  one — paying  twenty-four  dollars  to 
go  forty-five  miles.  The  road  was  bad,  and  our  passage- 
slow.  Night  overtook  us  far  from  Marshall,  and  after  several 
rejections  we  found  a  resting-place  at  a  roadside  tavern. 
Mine  ho>t  proved  to  be  a  Georgian  and  a  Methodist — recog- 
nized my  voice  in  the  dark,  but  did  not  claim  acquaintance 
till  the  light  assured  him  of  my  identity.  It  was  Saturday 
night,  and  the  presiding  elder  of  the  district  was  holding  a 
quarterly  meeting  in  the  neighborhood,  and  my  good  brother 
insisted  that  I  should  go  with  him  in  the  morning  and  preach 
f  >r  the  people.  I  ci  tnsented,  and  found  on  my  arrival  a  rather 
novel  arrangement  for  the  day,  though  I  learned  that  it  was 
imon  in  Texas.  The  plan  is  on  these  occasions  for  two 
mons  on  the  Sabbath — a  long  table  is  made,  and  every 
family  (especially  the  church  member.-)  is  expected  to  bring 
provisions,  and  when  the  first  service  is  over  the  whole 
crowd  is    invited   to    dine.      On  this  day  it  was  a  feast  of  fat 


1858-]  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  347 

things,  and  if  appetite  is  a  sign  of  health,  the  people,  I  should 
say,  were  sound  and  well.  My  coming  displaced  the  elder, 
Brother  Irvine  ;  but  Brother  Fields,  the  preacher-in-charge, 
preached  a  funeral  when  dinner  was  ended.  Later  in  the 
afternoon,  my  old  friends,  Harris  and  Coleman,  came  down 
and  took  me  to  town.  We  were  not  in  time  for  night  service, 
and  so  I  rested.  The  next  day  I  was  sick,  and  so  remained 
for  several  days.  In  the  evening  I  went  into  the  country 
and  spent  the  night  with  Brother  Cook — another  friend  and 
neighbor,  who  had  left  the  old  land  of  Georgia  for  a  home  in 
the  West. 

"  Next  morning  I  took  the  stage  for  Rusk  ;  reached  Hen- 
derson at  night,  took  supper  at  the  hotel,  and  found  it  good 
enough  to  tempt  an  appetite  which  for  two  days  had  de- 
clined all  food.  On  coming  out  to  resume  my  journey  I 
found  a  storm  raging — the  winds  blew,  the  rains  descended, 
and  utter  darkness  prevailed.  I  was  alone,  but  the  driver 
proved  to  be  a  jolly,  cheerful  man,  and  he  beguiled  my  soli- 
tude with  song  and  witticism.  Stopping  to  water,  by  and 
by,  the  rain  still  pouring,  he  cried  out,  '  Well,  stranger,  hard 
times  on  horses  and  poor  white  folks.'  Mounting  a  box,  he 
sang  with  a  fine  voice  a  camp-meeting  hymn  ;  the  notes 
chimed  sweetly  upon  the  night  air,  and  echoed  through  the 
forest  ;  it  was  delightful.  The  song  and  its  memories  had 
almost  melted  me  to  tears,  when  he  ceased  and  exclaimed, 
'  Oh,  me  !  I  believe  I'll  quit  stage-driving  and  turn  out  to 
preaching — then  I'll  get  fried  chicken  and  butter-milk  three 
times  a  day.'     What  an  idea  of  high  living  ! 

"  On  we  go,  and  now  we  stop.  '  Mister,  you  must  get 
out  and  help  me.'  I  opened  the  door  and  found  the  storm 
had  felled  the  trees  across  the  road,  and  I  must  needs  take  a 
lamp  and  guide  through  the  woods.  You  would  have 
laughed,  Mr.  Editor,  to  have  seen  me  holding  down  a  sap- 
ling for  the  wheels  to  mount,  and  heard  the  driver's  com- 
ments on  my  strength  and  dexterity.  Finally,  we  got  back 
into  the  road,  and  I  took  my  seat,  resolved  upon  a  nap.  The 
stage  was  nearly  filled  with  mail-bags,  and,  getting  one  foot 


318  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.       [Ohap.  xiii. 

upon  the  floor  as  a  prop,  I  braced  myself  and  prepared  for 
rest. 

"  How  long  I  slept  I  know  not ;  but  1  was  awaked  by  a 
cold  sensation  creeping  up  from  my  foot  to  my  knee,  and  by 
the  plunging  of  the  horses  and  the  shouts  of  the  driver.  Let- 
ting down  the  window  I  found  we  were  swimming  a  creek. 
The  stage  was  full  of  water— the  current  powerful,  and  our 
danger  imminent.  Fortunately  the  lead  horses  had  struck 
bottom,  and  were  struggling  to  get  out,  and  but  for  their  aid 
in  this  crisis,  the  other  horses  and  the  stage  must  have  gone 
down — swept  as  the)'  were  by  the  torrent.  When  we  reached 
dry  land,  the  driver  shook  himself  like  a  Newfoundland  dog 
after  a  swim,  and  said,  '  Well,  did  ever  !  '" 

He  readied  Rusk  in  good  time,  where  his  si>ter  Clara, 
wife  of  Dr.  Wiggins,  was  living,  and  continues  his  notes  : 

"An  appointment  had  been  made  for  me  to  deliver  an 
address  at  Chapel  Hill,  in  behalf  of  Soule  University;  but  on 
my  arrival  at  Rusk,  I  learned  from  those  informed  as  to 
the  stage  routes,  that  1   could   not  get  there  in  time.     Aban- 

ling  the  effort,  which   had  kept  me    busy   for  a   week   or 

,  I  made  myself  l  iy  brother-in-law's,  Dr.  Wiggins'. 

Making  his  house  headquarters,  I  preached  about  in  the 
country  and  in  the  -  opportunity  offered.     Hearing 

of  a  two-days'  meetii  n  miles  distant,  in  company  with 

Brother  Finley,  the  Stationed  preacher,  I  attended  on  the  Sab- 
bath. The  house  was  small,  the  congregation  large,  and  the 
pulpit  was  brought  out  and  set  under  a  black  jack,  and  the 
people  arranged  themselves  in  every  way — some  on  benches, 
some  on  logs,  some  on  the  ground  ;  they  stood,  sat  down, 
lay  down,  squatted.  It  was  a  picture,  with  more  attitudes 
than  artist  could  conceive.  Children  were  numerous  ;  and 
when  a  little  fellow  would  grow  restless — in  several  cases — 
the  mother  would  lead  him  up  to  the  pulpit,  pour  out  a  glass 
of  water,  and  give  him  to  drink.  These  movements,  though 
a  little  unusual,  were  a  great  deal  better  than  to  have  one  cry 
out,  as  often  happens.  I  pity  a  travelling  preacher  whose 
delicate  nerves  or  fastidious  taste  allows  these  little  irregu- 


i*58-]  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  349 

larities  to  disconcert  him,  and  especially  one  who  is  provoked 
into  rebuke.  Reproof  in  these  cases,  in  my  judgment,  is 
always  ill-timed,  in  bad  taste,  bad  spirit,  in  fact  unkind. 
Children  ought  to  be  taken  to  church  while  very  young,  as  a 
Christian  duty  ;  and  many  a  poor  woman  is  compelled  to 
take  her  infant  with  her  or  stay  at  home,  and  if,  to  her  mor- 
tification, the  little  one  cries,  in  spite  of  all  her  efforts  to 
quiet  him,  that  man  is  wanting  in  gentleness  and  Christian 
sympathy,  who  will  add  to  her  shame  and  trouble  by  scolding 
or  petulant  remark.  Be  patient,  brother  ;  the  good  woman 
is  suffering  in  spirit  more  than  yourself.  Let  her  alone  ; 
'  she  hath  done  what  she  could.' 

"The  evident  tokens  of  the  Divine  presence  on  Sabbath 
induced  us  to  preach  another  day.  We  had  several  conver- 
sions and  accessions  to  the  Church — a  very  interesting  meet- 
ing. But  the  time  of  Conference  approaches,  and  I  have  sev- 
eral appointments  on  the  way;  so  I  mounted  my  mule,  and 
journeyed  backward  to  Rusk.  On  my  return,  I  found  Dr. 
W.,  my  sister,  and  the  children  well,  cheerful,  and  happy.  So 
I  left  them,  alas  !  to  see  him  no  more.  Oh,  the  changes  of 
life,  how  sudden  and  dark  !  Within  a  brief  month  the  hus- 
band dies,  the  wife  is  a  widow,  the  children  orphans — the 
happy  home  all  in  tears  and  gloom.  The  doctor,  however, 
was  a  deeply  religious  man,  consecrated  to  God,  and  to  him 
death  was  gain.  In  these  cases  our  tears,  perhaps,  are  just  ; 
but  we  often  dishonor  Christianity  by  our  brooding  sorrows, 
and  the  refusal  to  be  comforted.  Faith  should  inspire  hope, 
and  hope  should  cheer  us  before  the  fruition  comes.  The 
sun  scatters  light  before  his  rising,  and  we  rejoice  in  his  ap- 
proaching splendor  ;  so  ought  we  to  trust  in  the  promises  of 
Him  whose  visible  revelation  we  await. 

"  Preaching  at  Jacksonboro'  in  the  morning,  and  at  Larissa 
at  night,  next  day  I  proceeded  to  Tyler,  the  seat  of  the  East 
Texas  Conference.  Here  my  stay  was  as  pleasant  as  kind- 
ness could  make  it.  Heaven  reward  the  very  agreeable 
family  where  I  found  food,  rest,  and  fellowship.  The  only 
extra  incident  of  the  occasion  occurred  on  the  ni<?ht  of  the 


350  Life  and  Tunes  of  George  F.  Pierce.       [Cn.u-.  xm 

missionary  anniversary.  The  church,  though  new,  is  a  very 
inferior  building,  and  generally  regarded  unsafe  under  the 
pressure  of  a  crowd.  On  that  night  it  was  packed  to  its  ut- 
most capacity.  The  services  had  progressed  nearly  to  the 
point  when  I  was  to  speak.  Occupying  a  chair  in  the  altar, 
I  had  leaned  my  head  on  my  hand,  and  was  wondering  what 
I  should  say,  when  suddenly  there  was  a  slight  noise — very 
slight — and  then  a  shuffling  of  feet  and  an  uprising  of  the 
whole  mass,  and  then  the  panic  flew.  Such  a  stampede  you 
never  saw  !  There  was  a  rush  for  the  doors — windows  were 
smashed — children  cried — women  fainted — men  shouted — 
sinners  leaped — preachers  jumped.  The  panic  smote  them, 
'  like  David  did  the  Ilittites,  hip  and  thigh  ' — head  and  heart, 
and  out  they  went,  pell-mell,  and  all  for  nothing.  The  house 
is  standing  yet,  I  presume  ;  at  any  rate,  it  was  up  next  day  ; 
but  the  ventilation,  so  far  as  glass  and  sash  might  hinder  it, 
perfect — hardly  a  pane  was  left.  One  lady  played  the 
heroine.  Raising  a  window,  she  put  out  her  little  girl,  and 
then  stood  still,  holding  up  the  sash  ;  and  as  the  frightened 
men  rushed  along,  and  over  each  other,  on  their  reaching 
her  post  she  would  say,  'Pass  out,  gentlemen,  pass  out.' 
Byron,  I  think,  in  describing  a  storm  a  sea,  and  the  laboring 
ship  doomed  to  wreck,  when  the  crisis  came,  and  all  hope 
was  gone,  say-  : 

"  'Then  shrieked  the  timid,  and  stood  still  the  bra: 

So  it   was   in    the  panic  and  the  stampede  at  Tyler,  and   a 
woman  was  '  the  bravest  of  the  brave.' 

"  A  famous  mule  was  brought  to  town,  could  icalk  sev- 
enty miles  a  day,  price  $500,  and  the  owner  was  anxious  for 
the  bishop  to  have  him.  I  was  asked  if  I  would  accept  him. 
I  frankly  answered,  '  I  would,  and  would  ride  him  to  Austin.' 
I  verity  thought  I  was  going  to  be  set  up,  for  I  was  afoot ; 
but  my  usual  luck  prevailed.  '  I  never  am  but  always  to  be 
blest.'  Nevertheless,  my  good  Brother  Whipple  had  z.  pair 
of  mules,  and  a  carriage  to  boot,  and  invited  me  to  a  seat 
with  him  ;  so  I  left  Tyler  for  Austin. 


1S58-]  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  351 

"  Brother  W.  is  a  Yankee,  and  a  Texan,  and  a  travelling 
Methodist  preacher,  with  a  varied  experience  in  each  char- 
acter; and  a  man  who  did  not,  under  these  circumstances, 
learn  '  a  thing  or  two,'  ought  to  be  considered  dull — very. 
But  this  Yankee  is  smart ;  this  Texan  full  of  invention  and 
expedient  ;  this  preacher  ready  for  every  good  word  and 
work.  As  a  travelling  companion  he  is  a  nonpareil — a  para- 
gon of  perfection.  He  will  talk  till  you  are  tired,  and  then 
quit  (which  is  very  sensible) ;  and  when  you  are  rested,  he 
will  begin  again,  right  where  he  left  off.  He  will  cook  your 
dinner  in  a  trice,  and  do  it  well  ;  grease  the  carriage,  feed 
the  mules  ;  mend  up,  if  anything  breaks  ;  knows  all  the  good 
places  to  stop  at ;  understands  the  geography  of  the  country, 
and  is  never  puzzled  by  forks  in  the  road  ;  and  can  tell  you 
more  about  Texas,  the  Church,  the  people,  the  Indians,  and 
the  wars  than  any  man  I  met.  (I  wish  I  had  him  to  go  to  Cal- 
ifornia with  me.)  His  satchel  and  carriage-box  can  hold  as 
many  good  things  as  a  temperate  man  will  want  in  a  travel 
of  a  thousand  miles.  He  may  replenish  on  the  way;  I  can- 
not tell.  I  only  know  that  every  day,  when  noon  arrived, 
we  stopped  and  dined — had  a  plenty  and  a  variety.  We  kin- 
dled a  fire  (I  say  we,  for  I  would  help  him  in  that),  and  the 
coffee-pot  was  brought  out  and  made  ready,  contents  boiled 
and  settled,  meat  broiled,  bread  warmed,  and  two  hungry 
men  ate  till  each  exceeded.  One  day  we  had  (W.  provided 
it)  a  bottle  of  milk.  A  norther  had  overtaken  us  ;  it  was 
very  cold,  and  when  we  stopped  the  milk  was  frozen,  and  so, 
by  the  help  of  a  little  sugar,  we  had  ice-cream.  Now,  tell 
me,  ought  not  the  memory  of  a  commissary  who  will  provide 
such  delicacies  away  yonder  in  a  Western  prairie  to  be  em- 
balmed ?  I  think  so.  Whipple  forever  !  Texas  owes  him 
a  debt  of  gratitude,  for  he  has  served  her  well,  and  I  owe 
him  '  one  '  for  the  ride  to  Waco. 

"You  must  allow  me  to  skip  along  here,  merely  saying 
that  we  rode  all  day,  and  I  preached  at  night,  till  on  Satur- 
day evening  we  crossed  the  Brazos,  and  stopped  at  Waco, 
where,   on   Sabbath,    I   was   to    dedicate  a  church   and   beg 


859  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.       [Chap,  xm 

money  to  pay  for  it.  I  did  both — the  last  very  successfully, 
raising  about  four  thousand  dollars.  At  this  point  Brother 
\\\.  having  to  go  by  home,  left  me,  and  Dr.  Wilkes  took  me 
in  charge,  under  promise  to  land  me  in  Austin  (a  hundred 
miles  distant)  in  two  days.  He  was  better  than  his  word,  for 
we  arrived  on  the  second  day  to  dinner.  Oh,  what  a  country 
between  the  Brazos  and  the  Colorado  !  Rich,  beautiful,  pict- 
uresque, splendid  roads,  rushing  streams,  herds  of  cattle, 
antelopes,  room  for  a  nation  and  homes  for  all.  The  droughts 
common  to  this  latitude  are  the  only  material  drawback  upon 
the  agriculturist.  All  the  rest  may  be  remedied  by  time  and 
enterprise.  For  stock-raising  the  country  is  admirably  fitted, 
and  it  might  be  a  question  whether  small  grain  farms,  with 
flocks  and  herds  of  horses,  sheep,  and  cattle  would  not  be  a 
better  policy  for  the  people  than  large  cotton  plantations.  A 
mania  for  sheep  has  seized  the  people,  and  such  flocks  I 
never  saw  before.  I  passed  a  thousand  in  one  drove,  moving 
to  another  range,  and  I  thought  of  Abraham  and  the  proph- 
A\d  the  similitudes  of  the  Scripture 
"Austin  is  beautifully  located  and  is  aprospcrous  town — 
the  thriving  capital  <>f  a  great  and  growing  State.  I  found 
a  genial  home  with  my  old  friend,  Genera]  Pitts,  who  had 
moved  in  on  purpose  to  attend  the  Conference  ami  entertain 
the  preachers.      The  short,  pleasant,  and,  I  trust, 

profitable.  Here  we  had  for  the  first  time  in  the  history  of 
this  Conference,  '  lay  co-Operation?  Several  delegates  were 
in  attendance,  some  of  them  not  only  for  the  first,  but,  as 
they  said,  for  the  last  time.  I  think  their  conclusion  v. 
for  I  have  never  been  a  convert  to  the  prevalent  views  of  the 
times.  To  say  nothing  of  the  departure  from  an  old  system 
which  has  worked  well,  and  is  doing  better  as  the  preachers 
are  more  faithful  to  the  Discipline,  there  arc  several  grave 
objections  to  the  plan  which  is  coming  into  vogue.  Briefly 
— if  the  delegates  attend,  the  Conference  is  a  burden  upon 
the  people  by  reason  of  numbers.  Secondly,  representation 
involves  the  necessity  of  election  by  popular  vote,  from  which 
evil  may  the  Lord  deliver  Methodism.      Thirdly,  the  theory 


1858.]  iife  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  353 

is  a  mockery  of  the  delegates,  for  they  have  neither  right  nor 
power — all  they  suggest,  recommend,  or  resolve  being  sub- 
ject to  the  authoritative  control  of  the  Annual  Conference. 
Fourthly,  neither  the  Annual  Conference  nor  this  expletive  ad- 
junct can  legislate  for  the  Church  :  we  are  all  under  authority, 
and  to  administer,  and  not  to  enact,  is  our  business.  Fifthly, 
lay  co-operation  is  a  big  word,  full  of  meaning,  and  already 
claims  more  than  was  in  the  original  bond  :  meaning,  first, 
lay-stewards,  one  from  a  district — now  lay  delegates  from 
every  quarterly  Conference.  What  NEXT  ?  This  deponent 
saith  not.  I  have  been  a  looker  on,  all  around,  and  have  not 
seen  the  advantages  which  are  claimed  for  this  progressive 
movement.  We  are  doing  better  in  some  things  I  steadfastly 
believe  and  cheerfully  grant ;  but  the  Conferences  which  are 
without  delegates  are  improving  as  fast  and  as  well  as  those 
encumbered  with  them.  This  fact  proves  that  those  who 
glorify  lay  co-operation  as  the  cause  of  our  prosperity,  have 
made  a  slight  mistake — a  false  induction.  I  am  neither  an 
old  fogy  nor  a  young  American,  but  an  earnest  Methodist ; 
deeply  in  love  with  the  old  system,  and  fully  persuaded  of  its 
capability  as  to  progress,  expansion,  and  final  triumph.  I  am 
a  man  of  the  people — love  them,  believe  in  them,  sympathize 
with  them,  desire  their  co-operation,  in  all  legitimate  ways, 
and  rejoice  to  know  that  with  a  few,  a  very  few  individual 
exceptions  (and  these  ministerially  influenced),  the  people 
coincide  with  my  views  on  this  subject.  They  are  content, 
love  Methodism,  its  doctrines,  system  and  agents.  The  peo- 
ple are  the  trustees  and  managers  of  Church  property,  of 
colleges,  of  missionary  funds.  The  stewards  of  districts, 
stations,  and  missions  have  absolute  control  in  more  ways 
than  one  of  the  finances  of  the  Church,  and  the  moneys  be- 
yond their  control  are  appropriated  by  law.  All  this  is  right. 
What  the  Church  wants  is  not  cumbrous  legislation,  not  com- 
plex machinery — but  self-denying,  hard-working,  heaven- 
baptized  ministers.  Give  us  intelligent,  holy  preachers, 
mighty  in  word  and  doctrine,  full  of  faith,  burning  with  zeal, 
I  will  go  security  that  the  people  '  co-operate  '  cheerfully, 
23 


354  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.       [Chap.  xiii. 

liberally,  methodistically.  Hold  the  Conferences  with  open 
doors  ;  let  the  people  attend — the  men  and  the  women — see, 
hear,  feel,  understand  the  wants  of  the  Church,  the  plans  of 
the  Church  ;  circulate  the  minutes,  the  missionary  reports, 
the  periodicals,  all  good  books,  and  the  people  will  represent 
Methodism — not  by  elections,  votes,  and  speeches,  but  by 
prayers,  gifts,  and  holy  living.  More  religion,  brethren, 
among  preachers  and  people  is  t/ic  want  of  the  times.  Lord, 
revive  thy  work  in  the  midst  of  the  years.  Amen,  and  let 
all  the  people  say  am 

The  notes  give  us  an  insight  into  the  conservatism  of  the 
bishop.  He  was  not  given  to  change  ;  he  could  see  no  rea- 
son why  changes  should  be  made  in  the  machinery,  if  it  was 
working  well.  He  doubted  whether  innovation  always  meant 
improvement.  He  found  a  progressive  party  in  the  Church, 
who  were  aiming  to  bring  Methodism  into  greater  accord 
with  other  churches,  and  to  surrender  one  by  one  her  pecu- 
liarities. Lav  co-operation  meant  lay  delegation  to  him, 
and  he  was  opposed  to  that.  He  had  been  in  the  storm  of 
the  controversy  in  1828,  when  he  was  a  youth.  His  early 
ministry  had  been  sorely  tried  by  the  reformers,  and  he  was 
not  disposed  to  surrender  now.  When  lay  delegation  became 
a  fact  accomplished,  as  it  did  in  1 866,  he  found  his  fears  had 
not  been  well  founded,  and  was  gratified  that  the  laymen 
stood  like  a  stone-wall  by  him  in  his  resistance  to  other  radi- 
cal changes.  He  presided  over  the  Texas  Conference,  and 
then  made  his  way  homeward. 

While  he  was  in  Rusk  he  wrote  to  his  daughter  Claude, 
then  a  young  lady  of  sixteen,  and  in  Tyler  to  Ann,  his  baby 

girl. 

RUSK,  Texas,   November  2,   1858. 

"  My  I  >!  \u  CLAUDE:  Some  time  ago  I  received  a  letter 
from  a  young  lady.  The  epistle  was  brief,  badly  written, 
and  made  up  in  part  of  apologies  for  a  bad  pen.  Thought  I 
— why  in  the  world  does  she  not  get  another  ?  I  suppose 
there  were  numerous  pens  about  her  father's  house.  In  the 
absence  of  gold,  or  copper,  or  steel,  a  gray  old  goose  might 


185&]  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  355 

have  been  found,  who  in  the  exigency  would  have  surren- 
dered one  of  her  quills.  The  young  lady  was  and  is  a  favor- 
ite of  mine.  Her  letters  are  always  welcome,  despite  her 
poor  excuses  about  pen,  ink,  and  paper ;  but  I  should  think 
her  fine  taste,  love  of  beauty  and  order  desire  for  my  good 
opinion,  which  she  often  expresses,  would  make  her  more 
careful  of  her  chirography.  I  wish  very  much  she  would 
adopt  that  old  homely  maxim,  that,  '  what  is  worth  doing  at 
all,  is  worth  doing  well.'  I  should  like  to  see  her  energetic, 
symmetrical  in  her  entire  character,  neat,  orderly,  exact  in 
all  her  habits,  never  at  rest  while  anything  about  her  person, 
her  room,  or  her  wardrobe  was  disarranged,  and  determined 
never  to  awaken  suspicion  that  she  is  slovenly  about  any- 
thing, under  any  circumstances.  This  young  lady's  mother 
is  a  very  good  example,  and  might  be  imitated  to  great  ad- 
vantage. If  you  know  my  young  friend,  you  may  commune 
with  her  on  this  subject. 

"  As  you  see  by  the  date,  I  am  still  in  Rusk.  When  I 
wrote  last,  I  was  very  unwell,  and  so  continued  for  several 
days.  The  trip  to  Chapel  Hill,  where  I  was  to  speak,  was 
long,  hard,  and  wearisome.  Withal  it  was  very  doubtful  if 
I  could  reach  it  at  all.  Certainly  not  without  travelling  all 
day  on  Sabbath.  So  I  declined  going,  and  went  off  into  the 
country,  to  hold  a  two-days'  meeting.  We  had  a  great  time, 
mourners,  converts,  and  I  left  them  going  on  with  improv- 
ing prospects.  I  came  back  to  begin  a  meeting  here  to-mor- 
row. 

"I  am  now  well,  save  home-sickness.  Two  or  three  vio- 
lent attacks  of  the  last  complaint,  not  much  prospect  of  im- 
provement before  Christmas. 

"  Well,  how  did  the  Hancock  Fair  come  off?  Who 
spoke  ?  Did  Nimrod  shine  among  the  bovine  specimens  ? 
I  should  like  to  know  his  doom.  I  hope  he  triumphed  over 
all  competitors. 

"  How  many  bales  of  cotton  have  been  picked?  Have 
they  finished  picking  ?  Are  the  cribs  full  ?  Do  the  hogs 
fatten  ? 


356  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.       [Chap.  xiii. 

"  Now  there  is  material  for  a  good  long  letter.  Answer 
these  questions,  or  get  some  of  the  rest  to  do  it. 

"  Oh,  how  I  wish  I  could  see  you  all.  Do  you  all  keep 
well,  and  happy?  Mollie,  Ann,  Carrie,  and  Pierce — are  they 
lively?     And  Robert  too,  is  he  learning? 

"  Write  to  Austin  immediately.     Love  to  all. 
"  Your  loving  father, 

"  G.  F.  P." 

"  Tyler,  November  9,  1858. 
"MY  DEAR  Daughter  Aw:  This  evening  I  received 
your  letter.  It  was  welcome  as  holiday  to  a  little  school- 
girl. I  esteem  it  quite  a  compliment  that  you  wrote  your 
first  letter  to  me.  Especially  so,  as  you  say  you  love  me  so 
much.  Sorry  to  hear  that  you  had  been  sick  but  glad  to 
hear  that  you  had  got  well.  I  hope  you  did  not  forget  to 
thank  God  for  your  recover)-.  Every  blessing  comes  from 
the  Lord  and  we  ought  to  be  grateful.  Pray  for  father,  he 
prays  for  you  ever)-  day.  Kiss  mother,  and  Carrie,  and 
Pierce,  and  all  for  me.      Good-night. 

"Affectionately,  G.   V.  P." 

He  now  left  Texas  for  Georgia,  and  on  reaching  home 
writes  of  Texas  and  the  journey  from  it  : 

"  TEX  IS  is  a  rare  country  in  more  ways  than  I  have  time 
to  describe  ;  but  you  must  allow  me  to  indulge  a  little  in  the 
marvellous.      I  have  seen  in  various  papers  accounts  of  a  very 

nge  production  of  the  oaks  last  fall,  especially  in  Eastern 
Texas.  It  is  called  oak  wheat,  simply  because  it  resembled 
in  shape  .1  grain  of  wheat.  Nevertheless  it  was  larger  and 
perfectly  white.  It  grew  on  the  leaves  of  the  Red  Oak,  one 
1  in  <it'  I  may  SO  call  it)  on  each  side,  and  the  two  directly 
opposite.  The  crop  of  acorns  was  a  failure,  and  this  seemed 
to  be  an  effort  of  nature  to  supply  the  want.  The  trees 
abounded  with  this  production,  and  the  ground  beneath  was 
covered  with  them  after  a  wind  or  a  shower.  The  hogs  grew 
fat  upon  them.     T  examined  them  carefully  ;   they  had  the 


1858.]  ufe  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  357 

flavor,  and  were  almost  identical  in  appearance  with  the  germ 
of  an  acorn.  They  were  not  the  nut-galls,  with  which  we  are 
all  familiar,  but  entirely  different  in  form,  color,  and  every- 
thing. It  may  have  been  the  production  of  an  insect — an 
excrescence  flavored  by  chemical  laws  with  the  sap  of  the 
tree  on  which  it  grew.  I  cannot  tell,  I  never  saw  any  thing 
like  it  before. 

"  '  Mine  host'  at  Austin  calls  his  country-home  MOUNT 
Wonder,  an  appropriate  name,  you  will  think,  when  you 
read  the  following  statements.  I  tell  the  tale  as  'twas  told  to 
me,  and  vouched  for  by  many  respectable  witnesses.  I  will 
begin  with  the  vegetables.  In  a  crop  of  turnips  he  found  ten 
weighing  one  hundred  and  sixty  pounds — one  weighed  eigh- 
teen pounds.  He  had  a  cabbage-stalk  three  years  old,  which 
had  on  it,  at  one  time,  One  Hundred  and  Sixty-Three 
heads,  making  a  circle  TEN  FEET,  THREE  INCHES  in  diameter. 
What  are  you  stretching  your  eyes  about?  Well,  you  say, 
that's  wonderful  for  a  dry,  'droughty'  country.  Yes,  it  is, 
and  the  people  came  twenty  or  thirty  miles  to  see  it.  When 
I  heard  this  statement  I  puckered  my  mouth  and  whistled, 
but  the  narrator  summoned  his  witnesses  and  proved  it. 

"  Next  we  will  turn  to  the  feathered  tribe.  Talk  about 
Shanghais,  Dorkings,  and  Brahma  Pootras  !  My  friend  had 
a  hen,  and  she  laid  an  egg  with  a  handle  five  inches  atid  a 
half  long.  Give  her  the  premium  and  we  will  pass  on.  The 
egg  and  what  follows  all  came  to  pass,  or  was  discovered 
within  a  week.  First,  a  mule  brought  forth  a  colt  ;  a  ram 
had  a  horn  upon  his  ear  ;  and  a  sow  had  a  litter  of  pigs,  each 
having  the  ear  mark  which  mine  host's  wife  had  adopted  to 
distinguish  her  stock.  This  beats  Jacob  and  Laban,  with  the 
brown  sheep  and  the  ring-streaked,  spotted  and  speckled  goats. 

"The  Conference  over,  I  started  for  Georgia.  My  good 
brother,  Dr.  Wilkes,  again  took  me  in  his  rockaway,  and  with 
him  I  journeyed  to  Chapel  Hill.  Our  passage  was  rough 
as  to  weather.  A  norther,  with  rain,  sleet,  and  biting  cold 
came  on  ;  but  he  was  bound  for  home,  and  I  for  my  appoint- 
ment in  Columbus,  and  Brother  Perry,   our  travelling  com- 


358  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.       [Chap,  xm 

panion,  for  his  wedding  in  Oxford,  Ga.,  so  we  kept  moving. 
Brother  P.  and  myself  took  the  stage  next  morning  for  Hemp- 
stead, the  present  terminus  of  the  Houston  Railroad.  We 
crossed  the  Brazos  Bottom  by  what  a  passenger  called  the 
lower  route.  Verily  it  was  a  muddy  time,  but  we  reached  H. 
in  time  for  the  cars,  and  Houston  in  time  for  the  steamer  to 
Galveston.  I  have  no  time  now  to  tell  of  adventures  by  land 
and  flood  ;  of  cars  and  prairies  ;  of  boats  and  bayous  ;  suffice 
it  to  say,  we  reached  Galveston  early  Sabbath  morning  ; 
stopped  with  my  old  friend  Briggs  ;  preached  twice,  and  ex- 
pected to  leave  on  Monday  for  Georgia.  Monday  came  and 
no  boat  for  New  Orleans.  We  will  rest  to-day,  there  is  yet 
time  enough  ;  visit  Brother  Games,  the  new  editor,  read  the 
papers  ;  to-morrow  we  start.  To-morrow  comes,  a  storm  is 
raging  ;  and  the  news,  no  steamer  will  leave  to-day.  Our 
hearts  sink.  We  begin  to  calculate  time  and  distance,  and 
conclude  that  we  may  still  meet  our  engagements  if  we  get  off 
<n  Wednesday.  Wednesday  morning  a  messenger  announces 
the  arrival  of  the  Atlantic,  and  that  she  will  leave  at  ten 
o'clock.  The  adieu  is  spoken,  and  we  hasten  on  board.  The 
winds  still  blow,  the  sea  or  the  waves  roaring.  The  tardy 
hours  creep  along,  freight  and  passengers  still  coming.  It  is 
noon  and  here  we  are,  tied  fast  to  the  wharf.  Night  has 
come  and  no  sign  of  departure.  Thursday  dawns,  we  rise 
from  our  berth  and  there  is  still  the  '  Gity  of  Gottages.'  Now 
an  old  boat  laden  with  cattle  for  New  Orleans  comes  along- 
side to  transfer  her  stock  to  the  Atlantic.  All  is  bustle  ;  but 
the  Atlantic  still  holds  on  to  her  moorings.  Some  fifty 
beeves  are  on  the  lower  deck  ;  presently  there  is  a  change  of 
position,  and  the  remainder  of  the  herd,  disturbed  in  some 
way,  break  down  the  frail  enclosure  about  them  and  plunge 
into  the  bay.  The  larger  ones  buffet  the  waves  with  amazing 
strength,  the  smaller  sink,  and  rise  and  struggle  for  life.  It 
was  a  piteous  sight.  Some  of  them  wailed  in  the  agony  of 
their  terror,  and  seemed  to  cry  for  help.  They  swam  for 
hours,  and,  I  believe,  got  safe  to  land.  I  had  no  idea  that 
cattle  could  endure  so  long  in  a  strange  element. 


1858.]  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  359 

"  Oh,  the  bitterness  of  detention  !  '  Well,  Perry,  the  ex- 
pectant bride  will  look  through  the  lattice  and  say,  "  why 
tarry  the  wheels  of  his  chariot,"  and  echo  will  answer,  "  why."  ' 
'Yes,'  he  replies,  'and  the  Conference  will  have  to  elect  a 
President,  and  will  wonder  what  has  become  of  the  bishop.' 
'  Yes,  I  am  very  sorry,  but  I  have  done  my  best.  Let  us 
count  it  up  again.  Perhaps  we  may  make  the  trip  yet.'  So 
we  count  and  calculate,  and  make  it  out,  that  possibly,  per- 
haps— if  and  if — we  may.  At  last,  at  5  P.M.  on  Thursday, 
we  move. 

"  The  winds  still  hold  their  revels — wild  and  stormy.  The 
Gulf  heaves  and  tosses  fearfully.  The  boat  is  old  ;  the  cap- 
tain a  stranger  upon  the  route  ;  the  hands  all  new  ;  the  fire- 
men were  plantation  negroes,  never  at  sea  before,  scary  and 
sick.  The  night  is  dark  and  tempestuous.  The  timbers 
crack  and  groan.  A  huge  wave  strikes  the  boat,  she  shivers 
and  strives  to  mount  ;  the  paddles  beat  the  water  as  the 
hoofs  of  a  restive  horse  paw  the  air,  but  there  is  no  motion 
onward  ;  by  and  by  we  rise  and  go.  Finally,  the  night  is 
past  and  the  day  breaks.  Glad  to  rise  from  a  sleepless  couch, 
I  ascend  the  deck  and  find  the  old  captain  in  great  glee,  rub- 
bing his  hands  and  thanking  God  that  the  Gulf  is  passed. 
'  Good  morning,  captain  ;  how  are  you  ?  '  'I  am  excited, 
sir.'  '  What  is  the  matter  ?  '  '  Do  you  see  yonder  light- 
house ?  I  have  been  looking  for  it  all  night ;  I  never  was 
along  here  before,  and  I  have  hit  it  so  beautifully ;  I  am  ex- 
cited, sir.'  He  gave  me  his  glass,  that  I  might  bring  it  near 
and  rejoice  with  him.  I  did  rejoice,  for  we  were  afloat  on  the 
great  waters  of  the  Atchafalaya  Bay.  I  am  not  one  of  the 
class  who  love  to  go  down  to  the  sea  in  ships.  Navigation 
on  a  deep,  narrow  river  will  do,  but  to  be  tossed  about  by 
winds  that  howl  as  if  they  were  hungry  for  their  prey,  and  to 
hear  the  sea  roar  responsive  to  their  call — well,  I  had  rather 
tread  a  desert  of  sand,  or  wander  with  weary  foot  through  a 
forest  wilderness. 

"  Our  troubles  are  not  ended.  We  reach  Brashear  City, 
the  terminus  of  the  Opelousas  Railroad,  and  the  train  is  gone. 


3G0  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.       [Chap.  xiii. 

No  chance  till  to-morrow,  two  o'clock,  r.M.  The  last  hope 
is  gone,  the  very  last.  Poor  Perry  !  The  Conference  can  do 
without  me  a  day  or  two.  Well,  let  us  hunt  lodgings  for  the 
night.  We  found  them  in  a  little  hotel  that  never  had  such 
a  rush  of  custom  before,  I  reckon.  The  train  due  next  morn- 
ing did  not  arrive,  and  presently  the  news  came  that  the  en- 
\  ine  had  broken  down,  and  another  day  must  be  lost.  Alas  ! 
did  you  ever  hear  the  like  ?  Is  this  luck,  accident,  or  Provi- 
dence ?  What  does  it  all  mean  ?  The  earth  and  the  sea  have 
conspired  against  us.  Having  escaped  the  water,  must  we 
perish  upon  the  land  ?  Well,  well,  it  is  no  use  to  mope  or 
i,  let  us  walk  about  and  see  the  town.  While  thus  en- 
ed  and  trying  to  cheer  each  other,  the  whistle  sounds,  the 
cars  are  coming.  Run  for  baggage.  Away  we  go,  through 
swamps  and  sugar-cane  plantations.  The  signs  of  last  year's 
disastrous  overflow  are  yet  visible — deserted  houses,  neglected 
fields,  enclosures  swept  away,  dead  fish  by  the  thousand,  left 
by  the  retiring  flood.  Keep  off  the  water  and  what  a  coun- 
try for  planting  ! 

"  Saturday  night,  away  behind  time,  we  reach  New  Or- 
leans ;  stop  at  the  (  'ity  1  [i  >tel,  rather  than  disturb  the  brethren 
at  an  unseasonable  hour.  Meeting  with  Colonel  Lomax.from 
Montgomery,  I  learn  that  by  leaving  in  the  afternoon  for  Mo- 
bile and  then  taking  the  stage,  I  can  reach  Montgomery  in 
time  for  the  night  train  and  be  in  Columbus  Wednesday 
morning  before  day.  Good  news,  and  I  slept  upon  it  well. 
Preached  in  the  morning  for  Brother  Harp  at  Moreau  Street, 
and  in  the  afternoon  took  the  mail-boat  for  Mobile.  A  pleas- 
ant ;  .  and  now  for  the  stage — one  hundred  and  twenty 
miles.  The  road  is  corduroy — pine  roots  and  mud.  No 
matter;  go  on  driver.  '  Haste  to  the  wedding  '  and  the  Con- 
ference. Well  we  did  reach  Montgomery//^/  in  time  ;  three 
minutes  later  would  have  ruined  all.  Perry,  like  the  old  sea- 
captain  when  he  saw  the  lighthouse  is  excited ;  after  all  our 
mishaps  and  misgivings,  we  '  hit  it  so  beautifully.'  At  Ope- 
lika  we  parted  ;  he  went  to  Oxford  to  get  a  wife,  I  to  Colum- 
bus  to  meet  the  Conference.     Without  rest  or  sleep,  I  presided 


1858.]  Ufe  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pieru.  361 

on  Wednesday,  but  dared  not  during  the  session  to  close  my 
eyes,  lest  nature  should  claim  arrearage  and  the  Chair  go  to 
nodding. 

"  Georgia  is  my  home  ;  here  I  have  lived  and  labored 
in  all  good  conscience  before  God  and  man  ;  here  are 
my  fathers  in  the  ministry,  my  compeers  and  brethren 
beloved  ;  old  friends  and  old  scenes  ;  old  memories  came 
about  me  fresh  as  morning  dew.  Oh,  the  days  of  yore, 
the  meetings,  the  revivals — wells  in  the  wilderness  of  the 
past  !  I  draw  from  them  many  a  refreshing  draught.  I 
thought  I  would  address  the  brethren,  tell  them  how  glad  I 
was  to  see  them,  how  much  I  preferred  my  old  place  to  the 
new,  but  my  full  heart  forbade  the  utterances,  and  I  was 
silent. 

"  This  is  a  large  Conference,  with  widespread  territory, 
and  many,  many  interests  to  be  cared  for ;  and  to  distribute 
the  preachers  is  an  arduous,  delicate  task.  But  it  must  be 
done.  It  is  the  order  of  Methodism.  Conscious  of  a  single 
eye — an  honest,  earnest  purpose  to  do  right,  praying  always 
to  Heaven  for  guidance — I  strive  to  do  my  duty  without  fear 
or  favor.  I  know  some  appointments,  like  afflictions,  are  not 
'  joyous,  but  grievous  ;  '  but  persuaded  as  I  am  that  the  hand 
of  God  is  in  these  things,  I  do  not  distress  myself,  but  patient- 
ly, hopefully  await  the  issue.  I  have  seen  many  a  brother  go 
weeping  to  his  work,  and  come  back  rejoicing  and  anxious  to 
return.  Many  preachers  darken  their  way  with  disappoint- 
ment, by  setting  their  hearts  on  particular  places  ;  far  better 
commit  their  way  to  God,  and  wait  with  submissive  confi- 
dence till  Conference  comes  and  closes.  The  necessities  of 
the  Church  are  above  personal  preferences,  and  the  rotations 
of  itinerancy  more  important  than  domestic  convenience  ;  and 
every  Methodist  preacher  ought  to  thank  Heaven  and  the 
Church  that  he  gets  any  work  to  do.  It  is  all  honorable  and 
glorious,  arid  he  who  is  not  willing  to  work  anywhere  the 
Church  needs  him  and  Providence  empowers  him  to  go, 
misunderstands  his  calling,  and  has  need  to  learn  the  first 
principles  of  Methodism  and  Gospel  order.     So  I  think  and 


362  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.       [Chap,  x hi. 

feel,  and  on  this  basis  make  appointments,  taking  it  for 
granted  that  every  brother  has  read  the  same  Bible  and  Dis- 
cipline, and  being  divinely  called  to  preach,  says  in  his  heart, 
Here  am  I,  send  me.  This  was  the  spirit  of  the  Georgia  Con' 
ference  when  I  joined  it  twenty-eight  years  ago,  and  I  do  not 
believe  the  brethren  have  backslidden.  I  made  many  changes 
at  the  last  session  ;  I  firmly  believe  the  blessing  of  God  will 
be  upon  them.  Some  were  afflicted,  I  dare  say,  but  even 
they  already  begin  to  feel  better  ;  revivals  have  begun,  and  I 
am  cheered  by  letters  from  wellnigh  every  quarter.  Lord, 
bless  old  Georgia;  make  the  preachers  holy,  useful  and 
happy  !  and  if  any  brother  feels  sad  amid  his  trials  and  strug- 
gles to  do  good,  let  him  remember  that  what  his  old  friend 
gives,  he  takes  without  stint  and  never  complains.  When 
this  letter  is  read,  the  writer  will  be  '  over  the  hills  and  far 
away,'  striving  to  illustrate  his  own  doctrine — to  practice 
what  he  preaches." 

I  [e  presided  at  this  Conference,  in  Columbus,  for  the  first 
time  in  Georgia.  He  had  entered  the  Conference  twenty- 
seven  years  before.      He  had  filled  every  position  a  Methodist 

icher  could  fill.  He  had  never  shirked  a  duty  nor  quailed 
before  a  danger.  He  was  so  beloved  and  admired  by  his 
brethren  that  they  were  willing  to  take  anything  at  his  hands. 
He  did  make  great  changes,  and  not  a  few  keen  disappoint- 
ments resulted  from  his  work,  but  his  brethren  did  not  com- 
plain. They  knew  the  heart  of  the  man,  and  had  confidence 
in  his  wisdom.  The  Conference  he  entered  had  largely 
changed.  The  men  who  received  him  into  the  Conference 
were  nearly  all  gone,  but  the  present  leaders  of  the  work 
were  his  old  confreres.  .Anthony,  Key,  Parks,  Evans,  Glenn, 
Mann,  had  taken  the  places  vacated  by  Few,  Myers,  Turner, 
Howard,  Sinclair;  while  E.  H.  Myers,  J.  S.  Key,  II.  II. 
Parks,  Clark,  McDonnel,  Turner,  M.  Wynn,  Potter,  Cook 
Adams,  and  his  brothers  James  and  Thomas,  were'  among  the 
younger  members.  The  Conference  covered  the  larger  part 
of  the  State,  and  the  circuits  were,  many  of  them,  large  and 
hard,  but  he  knew  the  men  and  knew  the  ground,  and  did  his 


i858-]  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  363 

work  as  wisely  and  as  well  as  it  probably  could  have  been 
done. 

It  had  been  decided  that  he  should  go  to  California  during 
the  year  1859,  and  he  made  ready  for  his  trip. 

In  January,  after  his  return  from  the  West,  he  wrote  a 
playful  letter  to  Claude  : 

"  Sunshine,  January  28,  1859. 

"  My  Dear  Daughter  :  Your  mother  received  your 
letter  this  evening.  It  was  welcome,  but  a  very  poor  substi- 
tute for  your  dear  self. 

"  Several  things  conspired  to  prevent  Lovick  and  Mary 
from  coming,  as  first  proposed.  One  thing  was,  at  the  time 
they  were  to  start  I  had  to  go  to  Augusta.  Your  brother 
had  to  go  to  Oxford,  and  so  the  Columbus  trip  was  declined. 
When  Mary  will  get  out  I  know  no  more  than  when  you  will 
come  home.  Each  seems  a  distant  event.  I  am  busy — out 
of  money — cotton  not  in  market  yet  ;  and  all  are  busy  in  the 
preparation  of  the  farm  for  another  crop,  so  that  I  can 
hardly  get  a  horse  to  go  to  church,  much  less  make  a  trip  to 
the  railroad.  The  old  diligence  is  on  its  last  legs,  and  the  lo- 
comotives yclept  horses  are  superannuated.  We  are  getting 
low.  Woe  is  me  when  I  ride  abroad  nowadays  in  a  public 
conveyance.  How  are  you  to  get  home  ?  It  is  a  serious 
question.  You  must  come  before  March,  but  how  ?  This 
deponent  sayeth  not.  Well,  we  must  scheme  it,  as  old  Lewis 
(John)  used  to  say,  if  a  far  opportunity  in  the  way  of  com- 
pany offers,  do  you  come  along.  There  is  no  telling  when 
pa  will  get  back.  I  will  write  on  this  subject  soon,  and  a  little 
more  definitely. 

"  At  any  rate,  my  darling,  we  miss  you  at  home  and  long 
for  your  presence.  Forgive  me — I  had  almost  forgot.  On 
Friday  last  you  had  another  niece  born — Miss  Julia  Turner. 
Three  grandchildren.  Ella  is  doing  well,  sitting  up,  thinks 
the  baby  a  great  improvement  on  the  other  two.  Fair  skin, 
blue  eyes,  they  say — I  only  know  it  can  squall. 

'*  Tell  Mr.  Gambrill  that  when  I  was  in  C,  at  Conference, 


364  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.       [0«ar  mil 

a  gentleman   promised  to  send  me  a  barrel  of  oysters.     Tell 
Mr.  G.  to  remind  him  of  it  the  first  cold  spell.     And  let  me 
suggest,  it  would  be  better  to  open  them  and  put  them  in  a 
can  and  forward  by  express. 
"  We  are  well.     Write  often. 
"  Love  to  all. 

"  Very  affectionately, 

"  G.  F.  P." 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

EPISCOPAL  JOURNEYINGS,  1859-1860,  AGED  48-49. 

To  California — New  Orleans — Through  Texas — Arizona — Lower  Cali< 
fornia — Safe  Arrival  in  San  Francisco — Sickness — Return — Battle 
with  the  Ague — Victory  at  Last. 

He  now  began  to  make  ready  for  his  early  departure  to  the 
Far  West,  and  in  April  he  turned  his  face  toward  California. 
He  had  with  him  his  wife  and  little  Ann.  On  his  return, 
from  copious  notes  made  while  on  his  journey,  he  wrote  a 
very  full  account  of  it.  He  reached  New  Orleans,  and  of  it 
he  says  : 

"  The  week  spent  here  was  one  of  unmingled  pleasure. 
Renewed  intercourse  with  chosen  friends — new  acquaintances 
— letters  from  home — access  to  all  the  church  papers — consul- 
tations with  experienced  brethren  on  the  enterprises  of  South- 
ern Methodism — the  privilege  of  preaching  several  times — the 
prompt  responses  of  the  people  to  my  call  for  aid,  all  served 
to  beguile  time  of  its  weariness  and  make  me  hopeful  and 
happy.  Nevertheless,  as  I  wandered  about,  and  looked  upon 
the  throng  of  the  busy  and  the  gay,  sad,  depressing  thoughts 
would  intrude.  How  few  among  these  thousands  '  fear 
God  and  keep  his  commandments  ! '  What  temptations  to 
earthliness,  sensuality,  and  sin  abound  !  Here  amusement 
spreads  her  snares  and  plies  her  charms  by  night  and  day, 
catering  alike  to  the  vulgar  and  refined,  full  of  invention, 
fraud,  and  trick.  Business  condensed  into  a  few  months, 
demands  the  time,  thought,  care,  of  all  who  prefer  gold  to 
pleasure.  Buy,  sell,  get  gain,  make  haste,  get  away,  the 
yellow  fever  comes  ;  so  life  is  concentrated — the  pressure  is 
too  strong  to  be  resisted,  and  thus  eternity  is  lost  in  time. 


366  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.        [Chap.  xiv. 

After  all,  I  see  not  that  New  Orleans  is  more  wicked  than 
other  great  cities.  True,  the  desecration  of  the  Sabbath  is 
alarming — afflictive  ;  but  the  explanation  is  to  be  found,  not 
in  the  depravity  of  the  American  population,  but  in  the  for- 
eign elements  assembled  here  ;  in  the  Jews,  who  have  a  Sab- 
bath of  their  own,  and  in  the  godless  latitude  allowed  by  the 
Catholic  religion.  I  believe  the  municipal  authorities  here, 
as  elsewhere,  err  egregiously  in  yielding  to  the  demands  of 
'  the  lawless  and  abominable,'  who,  under  false  views  of  re- 
ligious toleration  and  civil  liberty,  are  pleading  exemption 
from  wholesome  restraints,  and  seeking  to  flood  the  land  with 
a  licentious  infidelity.  This  is  a  Christian — a  Protestant  coun- 
try— and  while  toleration  in  religion  is  the  guarantee  of  the 
Constitution,  and  is  supported  by  the  sentiment  of  the  peo- 
ple, no  man  or  community  of  men  can  plead  '  conscience  ' 
for  outraging  public  morality.  The  doctrine  of  '  rights  '  is 
destined  to  revision — the  time  is  at  hand — the  necessity  is 
upon  us,  and  when  the  work  is  done  and  the  truth  established, 
it  will  be  found  that  the  Bible  is  the  law,  and  that  nobody 
has  the  natural  '  right '  to  do  moral  wrong. 

"  In  the  meantime,  let  the  Protestant  Churches  be  faithful 
to  their    high  calling.     Multiply  churches,  Sunday-schools — 

iblish  missions — circulate  tracts — preach  in  the  market- 
places— carry  the  Gospel  to  the  outcast  and  neglected.  Our 
large  cities  are  mission  fields,  demanding  more  men  and 
money  than  have  ever  been  appropriated  to  them." 

Leaving  New  Orleans  they  took  the  boat  for  Shreveport. 

"  Our  first  night  was  dark  and  stormy,  I  might  say  tem- 
pestuous. We  made  very  slow  progress  and  were  very  glad 
to  hail  the  morning  light.  The  Lccompte  is  a  slow  boat,  but 
her  commander,  Captain  Johnson,  I  can  recommend  as  a  pru- 
dent and  safe  officer.  The  lives  of  his  passengers  are  precious 
in  his  sight,  and  with  him  are  secure  as  they  could  be  in 
human  hands. 

"  For  the  first  time  in  my  experience  I  found  the  Red 
River  low  and  falling,  but  still  high  enough  for  easy  naviga- 
tion.    We  reached  Shreveport  on  Saturday  night,  and  there 


I859-]  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  307 

spent  the  Sabbath,  preaching  both  morning  and  evening.  The 
people  were  present  in  large  numbers,  and  seemed  to  give 
earnest  attention  to  the  word  spoken.  May  their  profiting 
appear  in  future  time  ! 

"  The  travel  westward  is  heavy.  Two  extra  stages  left  on 
Sabbath  morning,  each  full  of  passengers.  The  regular  line 
left  on  Monday,  but  I  was  crowded  out  and  had  to  hire  a 
conveyance  to  Marshall,  the  agent  assuring  me  that  I  should 
be  provided  for  from  that  point.  We  got  in  next  morning 
in  time  for  the  stage,  but  not  time  enough  to  see  my  old 
friends.  We  took  passage  for  Henderson,  and  had  as  pleas- 
ant travel  as  a  crowded  vehicle  on  a  very  hot  day  would 
allow.  In  fact,  in  all  my  wanderings  I  never  struck  a  more 
agreeable  crowd.  One  gentleman,  who  had  been  over  the 
plains,  encouraged  us  much  as  to  the  prospects  of  our 
journey.  He  thinks  there  is  no  danger,  and  that  the  discom- 
forts are  not  greatly  to  be  dreaded.  He  gave  me  much  use- 
ful information  as  to  my  outfit,  and  I  hope  to  profit  by  his 
suggestions. 

"  Supping  at  Henderson,  we  passed  on  to  Rusk,  arriving 
in  due  time  next  morning.  Spent  two  days  with  my  sister 
and  her  deceased  husband's  family,  and  then  took  up  the  line 
of  march  for  San  Antonio. 

"  After  much  debate  and  various  opinions  from  those  best 
informed,  I  took  the  route  by  Palestine,  Waco,  and  Austin  to 
San  Antonio,  expecting  to  go  through  expeditiously,  but 
have  been  sadly  disappointed.  We  started  with  a  stage  and 
four  horses  ;  at  Palestine,  after  stopping  all  night,  we  dwin- 
dled to  an  inferior  hack  and  two  horses.  Nevertheless,  we 
moved  along,  maintaining  about  the  same  speed  as  when  we 
had  more  locomotive  power.  At  the  end  of  fifty  miles  we 
cast  anchor  again,  and  longed  for  day. 

"  With  a  vastly  improved  vehicle  and  rapid  horses  we 
sped  over  the  prairies  for  fifteen  miles,  and  driving  up  to  the 
'  stand,'  hailed,  but  no  answer  came.  Dismounting,  we  ex- 
amined the  stable,  and  found  neither  hostler  nor  steeds.  On 
inquiring  at  a  house  near  by,  we  learned  that  the  corn  and 


868  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.        &***•  X1V- 

fodder  were  exhausted,  and  that  the  horses  had  been  turned 
out  to  graze  and  could  not  be  found. 

"  The  postal  arrangements  of  the  country  are  deranged 
somewhat,  and  I  suppose  contractors  and  agents  must  be  for- 
given for  landing  passengers  in  the  middle  of  a  prairie  with- 
out horses  to  carry  them  on.  All  hands  save  myself  turned 
out  to  hunt  up  the  lost.      I  tried  to  sleep  and  forget. 

"  In  about  two  hours  they  all  returned,  hot  and  weary,  hav- 
ing found  but  one  of  the  span.  Taking  one  who  had  just  run 
his  race,  and  the  found  one,  we  prepared  to  start  once  more. 

i  horses  refused  to  pull,  but  presently  were  persuaded  to 
their  tint}-.  We  went  off  at  a  pace  too  fast  to  endure,  and  at 
the  first  little  hill  we  halted,  but  not  till  we  reached  the  top. 
After  coaxing  and  pushing,  we  got  off  once  again  ;  accom- 
plished several  miles  and  then  balked  for  an  hour.  Is  any- 
thing more  provoking  than  a  horse  when  he  takes  '  the  studs  t ' 
I  had  reproved  the-  driver  for  swearing  in  the  morning,  and 
under  this  provocation  he  restrained  himself  finely.  At  last, 
turning  to  me,  he  said  :   '  You  rebuked  me  for  swearing  at  the 

id,  but  this  is  enough  to  make  a  preacher  curse.  It  would 
relieve  me  mightily  to  curse  these  horses,  and  the  contractor 
who  put  them  on  the  road.'  '  Have  patience,  my  good  fellow, 
cursing  will  not  start  them.'  I  got  out  to  drive,  while  a  fel- 
low-; er  led,  and  the  driver  pushed  the  stage  upon  the 
horses.  At  last  they  moved — but  in  a  mile  they  stopped  again. 
Alas  I  .ilas  !  This  time  we  halted  in  a  bottom  of  mud  ami 
sand,  ami  wcllnigh  despaired  of  ever  moving  again.  I  went 
off  in  search  of  help,  and  to  my  joyful  surprise  on  getting  half 
way  back  found  they  had  started.  Finally  we  reached  the 
>tand,  glad  enough  to  part  with  the  beasts  which  had  worried 
i  much. 

"  Texas  is  a  curious  country — a  paradox.  Everything  is 
in  the  superlative,  or  contradictory,  or  marvellous.  It  is  the 
richest  and  the  poorest ;  has  the  best  land  and  the  meanest 
water;  is  the  hardest  country  to  live  in,  and  has  the  most 
to  live  on  ;  the  days  are  the  hottest  and  the  nights  the 
coolest  ;  here  arc  the  most  rivers,  and  the  least  water  ;   the 


1859-1  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  369 

best  roads  and  the  slowest  travel ;  the  finest  building  material, 
and  the  least  use  made  ofit  ;  there  are  more  clouds,  and  less 
rain  ;  more  plains  and  less  timber  ;  more  ropes  to  tie  horses, 
and  yet  more  estrays  ;  a  poor  country  for  farming,  and  yet 
the  most  productive  ;  the  least  work  and  the  largest  yield  ; 
the  horses  are  small,  and  the  cattle  big  ;  the  frogs  have  horns, 
and  the  rabbits  have  ears  like  mules  ;  the  people  are  intel- 
ligent without  general  education,  inventive  without  being 
tricky,  refined  without  mannerism,  rich  without  money, 
hospitable  without  houses,  bold,  generous  and  brave.  In 
fine,  here  is  an  empire  in  extent  and  resources,  but  in  the 
slowest  process  of  evolution,  and  yet  destined  to  population, 
wealth,  and  power.  There  is  much  to  admire,  but  little  to  de- 
plore ;  many  things  to  enchant,  but  few  to  offend  ;  and  for 
the  people  and  their  institutions,  there  is  a  splendid  future." 

While  resting  at  Waco  his  heart  turned  toward  Sunshine, 
and  Ella  and  her  little  ones,  and  he  wrote  her  on  the  9th, 
and  tells  her  of  some  of  the  events  of  the  journey,  which  were 
given  to  the  Advocate. 

"  Waco,  Texas,  May  9,  1859. 

"  After  many  ups  and  downs  we  reached  this  place.  I 
expected  to  have  got  here  Sunday  morning,  but  did  not 
arrive  until  dark.  So  the  Sabbath  was  spent  in  travel,  and 
trouble  enough  we  had  with  a  pair  of  balking  horses.  One 
scene  I  must  tell  you  about.  We  had  to  cross  a  creek  called 
Tanackana — it  had  been  very  high — the  banks  were  nearly 
perpendicular,  and  very  slippery.  We  had  to  get  out  of  the 
stage.  There  was  but  one  other  passenger,  a  gentleman. 
He  took  your  mother  and  Ann,  and  went  down  a  little  way 
to  cross  with  them  upon  a  log.  A  Creole  came  down  to  help 
us  over.  He  proposed  to  take  me  over,  so  I  mounted  him 
and  rode  over,  went  down  to  help  the  rest  over,  but  found 
the  log  impassable.  So  I  advised  them  to  go  back  and  try 
my  Creole.  Ann  thought  it  was  fine  fun  ;  she  ran  down  the 
bank,  and  my  Creole  took  her  in  his  arms  and  waded  over. 
Your  mother,  however,  could  not  get  down,  so  the  gentleman 
24 


370  Life  ami  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.       [Chap,  xiv 

took  her  in  his  arms  and  started.  In  a  few  steps  he  slipped, 
and  down  they  came,  your  mother  hugging  him  for  dear  life. 
The  poor  fellow  never  had  such  a  squeeze  before,  I  guess. 
At  last  they  got  down  to  the  bottom.  Now  she  had  to  put 
her  arms  around  the  Creole's  neck,  and  he  brought  her  over 
the  water.  Ann  thinks  it  the  finest  sport  we  have  had  on  the 
whole  trip. 

"  To-day  we  saw  six  hundred  beeves  swim  the  Brazos 
River,  driven  by  Mexicans.  It  was  a  rare  show.  One  fellow 
was  thrown  from  his  horse,  another  loped  the  horse  at  full 
speed,  threw  him  down  and  held  him  till  the  other  came  up. 
We  are  now  in  Texas.  Your  mother  does  not  like  it  at  all. 
The  prairies  begin  to  soften  her  dislike.  I  showed  her  my 
place.  She  is  much  pleased  with  that,  but  the  owner  now 
asks  ten  dollars  per  acre  for  it.  I  am  less  and  less  inclined 
to  move.  Living  out  here  is  very  hard.  Money  can  be 
mule,  but  there  is  no  chance  to  enjoy  it.  I  hope  John  will 
buy  in  Hancock — the  closer  to  Sunshine,  the  better.  But 
enough.  I  do  not  know  how  I  will  get  along  without  you 
and  the  children.  Kiss  them  all  for  me.  We  keep  well. 
God  bless  you  all.     Love  to  all." 

Hut  he  was  soon  in  motion,  and  he  writes  : 
"  My  recent  travel  through  Texas  gratified  a  wish,  long 
entertained,  of  seeing  a  prairie  in  all  the  greenness  and  glory 
of  its  vernal  beauty.  Every  former  visit  had  been  made  in 
'  the  sad  and  melancholy  days'  "f  Autumn,  or  in  the  dreari- 
ness of  Winter.  This  time,  the  grass  was  green,  the  Mo 
bloomed  in  beauty,  and  I  remembered  with  a  smile  a  descrip- 
tion once  given  me  by  a  man  who,  all  aglow  with  admiration, 
wound  up  his  account  by  telling  me  that  the  prairie  spread 
out  before  him,  '  like  a  vast  sheet  of  calico.' 

"  The  flora]  charms  of  these  plains,  I  presume,  diminish 
with  every  passing  year.  The  increasing  herds  of  cattle  and 
horses  are  destroying  both  grass  and  flowers  by  grazing  and 
trampling  ;  and  ill-looking  weeds  now  usurp  the  ground  once 
covered  with  more  attractive  vegetation.      In  some  instances 


1859-1  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  371 

the  Spring  blossoms  have  all  disappeared,  and  only  an  inferior 
and  very  perishable  grass  remains  to  cover  the  nakedness 
of  earth.  In  the  neighborhood  of  streams,  however,  and 
wherever  the  topography  of  the  country  allows  moisture 
to  remain,  nature  seems  to  luxuriate  in  her  own  loveliness. 
Such  gardens  of  beauty,  such  a  variety  of  hues,  are  nowhere 
else  to  be  found.  A  botanist  would  explode  with  enthusiasm; 
an  amateur,  albeit  ignorant  of  name,  genus,  or  species — who 
had  never  heard  of  stamen,  calyx,  or  petal,  would  go  frantic 
with  delight ;  and  even  the  rustic  soul,  though  wrapt  in  the 
stolidity  of  a  nature  which  never  kindled  into  emotion,  would 
open  his  eyes  in  wonder,  and  exclaim,  'beautiful !  beautiful !' 
I  shall  not  undertake  a  description — word-painting  is  not  my 
gift,  and  my  pen  is  too  dull  to-day  for  experiment  or  rash 
adventure. 

"An  observant  traveller  sees  some  strange  things.  In 
passing  from  Waco  to  Austin  one  day,  while  the  sun  was  yet 
high  and  bright  in  the  heavens,  we  found  the  encampment  of 
an  emigrant  on  the  roadside.  If  one  family,  it  was  a  numer- 
ous one.  On  the  ground  were  seated  a  man  of  fifty  and 
three  or  four  younger  men,  one  or  more  not  out  of  their 
teens,  all  playing  cards.  The  mother  and  daughter  (as  I  sup- 
pose) were  mounted  upon  horses,  each  with  a  barrel  of  good 
size  in  her  lap,  and  starting  to  a  creek  a  mile  and  a  half  dis- 
tant for  water.  (Whence  they  came,  I  know  not,  and  would 
not  tell  if  I  did.  Nor  will  I  congratulate  Texas  on  such  an 
addition  to  her  population.)  Younger  children  were  there, 
some  looking  on  the  game,  others  rolling  in  the  grass — and  I 
pitied  them. 

"With  what  ideas  of  duty,  propriety,  and  domestic  tender- 
ness must  they  grow  up  ?  The  lazy  father  and  lounging 
brothers  regaling  themselves  with  a  silly  game,  while  the 
mother  and  sister  are  doomed  to  drudge  and  toil  for  their 
comfort !  The  scene  was  revolting,  and  my  reflections  sad. 
If  the  Gospel  does  not  teach  them,  what  can  civilization  do 
for  such  people  ? 

"The   whole  country,   from  Austin  to    San  Antonio,  is 


372  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.       [Chap.  XIV. 

rich,  beautiful,  and  healthy.  The  crops,  where  they  had  not 
been  destroyed  by  frost,  were  luxuriant  in  promise.  The  dry 
season  had  commenced,  and  the  harvest  was  not  yet.  The 
farmers,  however,  were  cheerful  and  full  of  hope.  We  stopped 
a  few  days  with  my  old  friend,  General  Pitts  ;  held  a  three- 
days'  meeting  at  San  Marcos,  and  recruited  for  the  long  jour- 
ney over  the  plain-. 

"  While  here,  I  was  induced  to  go  out  one  afternoon  with 
a  company  of  friends  on  a  rabbit  hunt.  A  fine  lot  of  grey- 
hounds wen-  assembled,  besides  'Tray,  Blanche,  and  Sweet- 
heart, and  curs  of  lower  degree.'  Mule  rabbits  abound  in 
this  region,  and  are  very  destructive  in  gardens  and  fields. 
They  are  about  three  times  as  large  as  the  common  hare,  and 
it  is  said  exceed  in  speed,  especially  when  they  can  find  a 
path  or  road,  any  other  animal.  A  greyhound  can  sometimes 
catch  them  on  the  prairie.  Their  long  ears  are  very  conspic- 
uous, being  commonly  erect,  but  when  hard  pressed  in  a 
race  they  are  laid  flat  upon  the  back,  and  then  their  speed  is 
more  like  the  flight  of  a  bird  than  the  movement  of  an  animal 
(in  the  ground.     In  hunter's  phrase,   we  x jumped*  a  great 

many  ;  and  in  every  instance  when  the  chances  were  equal, 
they  escaped.      Some   tWO  or  three,   surrounded  by  dogs   and 

horsemen  and  frightened  into  confusion,  were  captured.  The 
desperal  with  which  these  Texans  follow  in  the  chase 

was  as  entertaining  to  me  as  the  contest  between  greyhound 
and  rabbit.  One  gentleman  told  me  that  he  measured  a  pair 
of  ear-,  eighteen  inches  from  tip  to  tip. 

"To  those  who  are  fond  of  curious  inquiries,   it  may  be 

an  interesting  qu  land  climate  affect  the  length 

and  size  of  ears  and  horns  t      Mule  rabbits  are  peculiar  to 

open  plain-.  ,  and  dry  places.     They  are  to  be  found 

lie  Trinity  River  to  the  Pacific  coast. 

"  Here,  too,  especially  in  Western  Texas,  the  horns  of  the 
cattle  are  extraordinary  in  length  and  circumference.  I  have 
seen  them  seven  feet  from  point  to  point,  and  was  told  that 
occasionally  the}'  measured  nine.  I  have  seen  a  pair  of  elk- 
horns  which  I  will  not  venture  to  describe,  for  fear  some  one 


1859-3  Life- and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  373 

might  suspect  me  of  '  spinning  a  yarn '  and  breaking  the 
thread. 

"  Along  the  road  to  San  Antonio,  from  Austin,  there  are 
many  beautiful  farms,  and  a  thrifty,  intelligent  population. 
The  streams  are  rapid,  bright,  and  sparkling.  The  San  Mar- 
cos, Guadalupe,  Comal,  and  San  Antonio  Rivers  are  equal, 
in  what  constitutes  a  watercourse  '  a  thing  of  beauty,'  to 
the  streams  of  any  other  land  ;  verdant  banks,  overshadow- 
ing trees,  falls,  cascades,  deep,  clear  pools,  pebbly  bottoms, 
water  now  flashing  in  the  sunlight,  anon  stealing  quietly  into 
shadow,  here  narrowed  to  a  rushing  current,  there  spread 
out  like  a  mirror.  Verily,  they  are  refreshing  to  the  dust- 
covered  and  heat-oppressed  traveller. 

"  The  Germans  are  thick  in  this  region  ;  and  it  is  due  to 
them  to  say,  that  they  have  done  more  to  improve  the  coun- 
try than  their  American  neighbors.  They  have  improved  the 
roads,  built  fine  rock-fences,  reared  more  substantial  houses, 
surrounded  them  with  more  tasteful  adornments,  and  hang 
out  more  signs  of  permanent  settlement  and  domestic  con- 
tent than  strikes  the  eye  almost  anywhere  in  the  great  State 
of  Texas. 

"New  Braunfels,  almost  exclusively  a  German  town,  is  a 
very  neat,  thrifty,  pleasant  place.  Twilight  was  fading  into 
darkness  as  we  entered  ;  and,  when  supper  was  over  and  we 
resumed  our  journey,  the  night  veiled  the  people  and  their 
habitations,  and  so  my  description  must  end. 

"  We  reached  San  Antonio  about  two  o'clock  in  the 
morning,  and  sought  lodging  at  one  of  the  chief  hotels.  The 
establishment  is  new,  and  as  yet  not  well  ordered,  but  is 
destined  to  be  a  first-class  house.  Unfortunately  for  us  it 
was  crowded,  and  the  only  chance  for  myself  and  family  was 
to  occupy  a  bed  laid  out  on  the  floor  of  a  billiard  saloon. 
This  was  bad  enough  ;  but  retiring  late,  needing  rest,  it  was 
a  great  addition  to  our  inconvenience  that  we  were  constrain- 
ed to  rise  very  early.  The  little  sleep  we  got  only  mocked 
our  weariness.  After  breakfast,  Dr.  Boring,  the  stationed 
preacher,  called  and  informed  us  that  Major  Neighbors  ex- 


374  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.        [Ohap.  xiv 

pectcd  and  desired  u.s  to  remove  to  his  house.  We  availed 
ourselves  of  this  kindness,  and  were  soon  transferred  to  more 
comfortable  quarters. 

"  It  is  very  agreeable  to  me  to  write,  and  will  be  very 
pleasant  for  his  old  Georgia  friends  to  hear,  that  Dr.  Boring 
is  well  received  in  his  new  field  of  labor.  He  has  attracted 
a  large  and  deeply  interested  audience  to  the  church  he 
occupies  and  has  cheering  prospects  of  extensive  usefulness. 
This  old  city  needs  him  ;  and,  if  I  may  judge  from  the  gen- 
eral testimony  in  favor  of  his  ministrations,  appreciates  him. 

"  Protestant  Christianity  has  long  been  rather  a  name 
than  an  aggressive  power  here,  ami  it  will  be  well  for  our 
Church  in  this  new  Conference,  and  for  the  people,  if  the 
talent,  experience,  and  piety  of  the  doctor  may  be  sanctified 
for  the  inaugurations  of  a  new  era — a  long,  long  season  of  re- 
vival, expansion,  and  progress. 

m  Antonio  is  unique  in   location,  form,  style  of  build- 
ing, population,  and,  in    fact,  in   everything.      An   old    Mexi- 
can town,  it  still   bears  the  impress  of  what  is  peculiar   in  the 
ad  habits  of  that  singular  people.      The  river  which 
run-  through   it  is  doub'  ponsible  for  the  general  ar- 

rangement of  the  Streets,  and  while  it  has  given  rise  to  many 
crooks  and  turns,  ought  to  li  n  on  the  ground  that  it 

is  the  most  accommodating  river  in  the  world.  It  runs  by 
every  man-  door,  makes  music  in  his  ear,  spreads  beauty  be- 
.  invites  him  daily  to  the  choicest  bathing,  meets 
him  at  every  turn  in  his  perambulations  through  the  city,  is 
always  welcome — a  joy  and  a  blessing.  It  is  a  public  conven- 
ience and  .1  private  refreshment,  a  city  ornament  and  a  do- 
mestic comfort.  The  boys  angle  in  its  bosom,  and  the  girls 
gather  flowers  from  its  banks,  the  women  admire,  and  the 
men  boast  of  it,  and  the  very  beasts  of  the  field  seem  glad  of 
its  presence. 

"  We  tarried  here  but  a  day,  and  much  of  my  time  was 
taken  up  in  securing  an  outfit  for  the  wilderness,  its  wants 
and  perils.  Many  objects  of  interest  in  the  town  and  neigh- 
borhood I  had   to  leave  without  having  seen.     I  intended  to 


!859.]  Life  mid  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  375 

enter  the  old  Cathedral,  but  did  not ;  partly  because  my 
time  was  short,  but  mainly  because  the  ridiculous  exterior 
revolted  my  taste  and  my  conscience.  It  is  more  like  a 
heathen  pagoda  than  a  Christian  temple,  with  its  towers 
striped  with  green  and  yellow  and  blue — the  most  fantastic 
combinations  of  color,  laid  on  with  clumsy,  unartistic  hands. 
The  charm  of  antiquity  was  lost  in  the  miserable  Mexican 
mimicry  of  modern  improvement.  The  old  tabernacle  would 
be  venerable  and  attractive  if  they  had  left  it  stained  with  the 
dust  of  centuries,  and  hoary  with  time  and  service. 

"The  Alamo  is  historic,  and  I  stood  with  some  emotion 
amid  its  ruins,  and  thought  of  the  brave  Fannin  and  heroic 
Crockett,  and  their  fellow  soldiers,  and  of  their  last  desperate, 
unequal,  fatal  fight.  It  was  once  a  fortification,  with  its  bar- 
racks and  magazines,  a  church  and  a  few  habitations  within 
the  walls.  It  is  now  a  comparative  desolation  ;  the  enclosure 
gone,  the  church  a  warehouse,  I  believe,  and  all  that  gave  it 
name  and  fame  superseded  by  that  spirit  of  progress  which 
sacrifices  the  romantic  to  the  useful ;  and,  if  a  convenience  or 
economy  called  for  it,  would  not  hesitate  to  build  a  horse- 
stable  or  cow-stall  over  the  tomb  of  a  prophet. 

"  Resuming  in  this  letter  the  thread  of  my  narrative,  let  us 
linger  yet  a  little  about  San  Antonio.  The  past  and  the  pres- 
ent have  met  here,  and  abide  in  fellowship — the  old  and  the 
new  live  side  by  side — different  races,  unlike  in  origin,  gov- 
ernment, education,  religion,  domestic  habits  and  national 
destiny,  constitute  the  population — neither  materially  affect- 
ing the  other  ;  each  perpetuating  the  customs  peculiar  to 
them  while  separate.  The  Mexican,  with  his  old  ideas,  plans, 
and  ways,  all  ancestral  and  superannuated,  riding  his  donkey 
without  a  bridle,  and  peddling  sticks  and  scraps  for  his  daily 
bread  ;  the  inventive,  headlong  American,  full  of  energy,  his 
hopes  always  a-head  of  his  business  and  his  gains.  The  one, 
stagnant  from  the  dulness  of  his  nature  and  the  misrule  of  his 
country,  content  to  live  without  aspiration  or  change  ;  the 
other,  strained  in  every  muscle  and  stretched  to  his  full  height, 
looking  out  for  '  the  good  time  coming,'  and  resolved  to  go 


376  Life  and  Tunes  of  George  F.  Pierce.       [Ohap.  xiv. 

and  meet  it  if  it  does  not  come  soon.  In  fine,  this  conjunc- 
tion of  'peoples'  is  odd,  motley,  curious  to  see,  and  fruitful 
of  reflection. 

"  The  same  contrast  is  to  be  seen  in  the  habitations. 
Here  is  the  '  jacal,'  pronounced  'harkal,'  the  lowest  style  of 
a  house — poles  set  in  the  ground,  tied  with  raw  hide,  and  the 
spaces  rudely  daubed  with  mud,  and  the  roof  thatched  with 
reeds  or  straw  ;  next,  the  adobet  a  sort  of  sun-dried  brick — 
the  most  common  material  for  building  in  all  Mexico,  that  I 
have  seen — these  houses  have  -mall  doors,  narrow  windows 
(often  none  at  all),  dirt-floors,  and  generally  look  to  be  any- 
thing but  comfortable.  Such  buildings  are  lit  only  for  a  very 
dry  country — a  long  wet  spell  would  dissolve  them.  They 
are  cheap,  easy  to  build,  and  may  be  made  agreeable  resi- 
dent- 

"  Now,  look  again — there  i-  a  neat  American  cottage  of 
modern  fashion  ;  yonder  i>  a  brick  mansion  that  would  look 
well  at  home,  in  any  city,  North  or  South  ;  turn  a  corner, 
.md  see  a  stone  structure  three  or  four  stories  high,  not  far 
from  the  magnificent  ;  here  an:  shops  and  stores,  shanties 
and  palaces      mud,  brick,  and  wood  houses — high,  low,  great 

and  small,  oddly  associated,  strangely  contrasted. 

m  Antonio  is  improving  rapidly,  trade  increases,  popu- 
lation comes  in,  and  the  Anglo-American  rules.  The  inhab- 
itants of  Chihuahua,  New  Mexico,  and  Sonora  trade  here  ;  the 
ire  full  of  teamsters,  oxen,  and  wagons  ;  and,  to  the 
Eastern  ear,  there  i-  a  Babel  of  dialects  on  the  sidewalks,  at 
the  counter,  on  the  Plaza,  and  everywhere.  The  dust  is  ter- 
rible, the  sun  shines  with  tremendous  power,  but  a  delight- 
ful breeze  comes  every  day  to  fan,  revive,  and  cheer  both 
stranger  and  citizen. 

"  An  appointment  was  announced,  and  I  preached  at 
night  to  a  fine  congregation.  My  hopes  are  strong  that, 
under  Dr.  Boring's  ministrations,  Methodism  will  attain  to  a 
controlling,  saving  influence  in  this  growing  city,  and  that 
their  new  Conference,  the  Rio  Grande,  will  fulfil  the  expecta- 
tions of  the  Church  in  its  organization.     In  passing,  I  would 


1859.]  iife  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  377 

suggest  to  the  Board  of  Managers  at  Nashville  the  propriety 
of  establishing  a  mission  for  the  Mexicans  at  San  Antonio, 
and,  especially,  of  founding  a  school  for  the  children  of  that 
much  and  long  neglected  people.  The  basement  of  our 
church  was  intended  for  a  school-room,  and  with  very  little 
expense  may  be  fitted  up  conveniently.  This  is  a  salient 
point,  and  proper  efforts  will  not  only  do  local  good,  but  will 
help  us  to  extend  the  Gospel  into  the  several  States  of  Mex- 
ico. Our  true  missionary  field  lies  near  us — we  ought  to  oc- 
cupy it — and  San  Antonio  is  the  place  to  begin.  I  call  the 
attention  of  the  Church  to  this  subject,  and  hope  when  I  reach 
Goliad  next  November  to  hold  the  first  session  of  the  New 
Mission  Conference,  to  be  furnished  with  men  and  means  to 
begin  a  Mexican  Mission  at  San  Antonio,  and  to  send  a 
preacher  to  El  Paso.  So  much  at  present,  to  all  concerned 
— more  hereafter  in  another  form. 

"  The  time  has  come  to  leave.  Mr.  Giddings,  the  con- 
tractor, proposed  to  send  myself  and  family  and  one  of  the 
preachers  in  an  extra  as  far  as  Fort  Clarke,  one  day  in  ad- 
vance of  the  regular  line,  inasmuch  as  the  stage  would  be 
crowded  to  that  post.  Moreover,  it  gave  us  the  advantage 
of  a  night's  rest  upon  the  road,  and  would  prepare  us  for  the 
fatigue  to  come. 

"On  May  20th  we  set  out,  accompanied  by  the  good 
wishes  and  openly  expressed  fears  of  numerous  friends.  With 
a  fine  team  of  horses,  a  careful  driver,  and  a  prairie  road,  we 
soon  were  miles  away  from  the  dust  of  the  city — rejoicing  in 
the  open  country  and  the  playful  winds  of  heaven. 

"  The  rolling  plain  is  covered  with  mezquit  bushes,  rather 
than  trees,  yet  furnishing  fuel  for  the  camp  fires  of  the  emi- 
grant and  the  trader.  Far  away  on  the  horizon  we  see  moun- 
tain ranges,  and  presently  we  descend  a  long  slope  and  then 
ascend  ;  now  the  hills  draw  nigh,  and  yet  the  road  allows 
undiminished  speed,  and  so  we  proceed  for  twenty  miles,  to 
the  village  of  Castroville,  on  the  Medina  River. 

"  The  pretty  town  is  named  after  Mr.  Castro,  a  Portu- 
guese gentleman  who  founded  a  colony  here,  long  years  ago 


978  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.       W^r-  X1V 

The  population  is  French,  German,  and  American — not  many 
of  either. 

"  The  hotel,  where  we  stopped  to  dine,  is  kept  by  a 
Frenchman,  who  fairly  maintains  the  reputation  of  his  coun- 
trymen for  politeness,  and,  withal,  spreads  a  fair  table  for  his 
patrons. 

'•  The  valley  of  the  Medina  is  fertile  ;  but  the  farms  give 
feeble  promise  of  bread  to  the  eater,  in  consequence  of 
drought.  If  a  man  may  judge  from  appearance,  work  was 
rain.  The  mountain  scenery  is  beautiful.  On  one 
of  the  summits  there  stands,  very  conspicuously,  a  cross.  On 
inquiry,  I  learned  that  two  Mexicans  had  been   killed  at  that 

I  by  Iinli.ni->  some  yt  .  and  that  the  cross  marked 
the  place  of  their  burial.  This  symbol  of  the  Catholic  rclig- 
i  .ii  i^  -..!)■  seen  occasionally  along  the  whole  route.  Thus 
seen,  it  is  very  significant.  As  far  as  I  could  learn,  it  in 
ever}  'ells  of  violence,  blood,  and  murder — death,  by 
Indian  revenge  or  love  of  plunder,  <>f  Catholic  superstition, 
here  void  <>f  its  offensivencss  by  its  tender  respect  for  the 
unfortunate.  The  grave  and  the  cross,  I  cannot  look  upon 
them  without  thoughts  of  death,  perhaps  Midden,  violent, 
and  burial  by  strange  hands  on  the  lone  wilds,  a  grave, 
without  name  or  date,  or  one  memorial  of  affection.  Hu- 
manity, love,  memory,  hope,  all  shudder  at  such  a  prospect. 
Hut  the  cross — instrument  of  death,  yet  lever  of  power  to 
lift  the  fallen,  as  it  stands  erect,  pointing  to  heaven,  tells  of 
resurrection  and  life. 

"  My  thoughts  ascend,  and  I  glory  in  a  faith  which  re- 
veals ,m  omnipresent  God,  and  a  Saviour  who  remembers  the 
dust  of  his  saints.  The  desert  is  as  safe  a  depository  for 
Ciirist's  jewels  a>  the  private  garden,  the  country  church- 
yard, or  the  city  cemetery. 

II  In  the  afternoon  we  crossed  the  channel  where,  in 
wet  weather,  the  Frio  River  runs,  but  now  dry  as  the  sum- 
mer threshing-floor.  Mountains— mountains  on  either  side, 
naked  mountain  till  we  roll  along  on  ridges  and  plains 
almost  without  a  jolt,  amid  dead  grass,  drooping- bushes,  and 


1859.]  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  379 

all  the  signs  of  a  fearful  drought.  With  showers  in  season, 
this  might  be  a  habitable  and  prosperous  country  ;  as  it  is, 
the  settlements  are  few  and  far  apart. 

"  About  9  o'clock  at  night  we  drew  up  at  a  Dutch  tav- 
ern, and  found  supper,  beds,  and  rest.  In  the  morning  one 
of  our  horses  was  foundered,  and  we  were  delayed  a  while  in 
trying  to  relieve  him.  Compelled  to  drive  the  same  team, 
we  expected  to  make  slow  progress  ;  nevertheless  we  reached 
Uvalde  in  time  for  a  late  dinner. 

"As  the  day  was  excessively  warm,  we  determined  to 
lie  by  till  midnight,  and  brave  in  darkness  the  perils  of  the 
way.  The  little  town  was  rife  with  stories  of  Indians  and 
their  depredations.  Some  stragglers  from  a  scouting  party 
came  in  and  told  of  '  signs,'  and  one  man  reported  that  his 
cow  came  up  with  an  arrow  sticking  in  her  side,  and  proph- 
ets of  evil  and  danger  were  thick  and  fluent.  But  I  had  al- 
ready heard  so  much  and  seen  so  little  that  I  ceased  from  all 
apprehension,  and  travelled  with  a  feeling  of  security  as 
strong  as  I  feel  in  the  East. 

"  At  this  place  I  met  Brother  Horton,  a  young  man 
whom  I  transferred  from  Georgia  last  Conference,  and  ap- 
pointed to  this  outside  circuit.  I  found  him  in  fine  health, 
pleased  with  his  work  ;  he  is  loved  by  the  people,  and  likely 
to  report  a  well- organized  circuit  at  his  Conference  this  fall. 
I  preached  for  him  at  night  in  the  Court-house,  and  on  com- 
ing out  he  told  me,  that  in  all  my  wanderings  I  had  preached 
at  last  on  the  outskirts  of  civilization.  From  this  point  to 
Fort  Clarke  it  is  fifty  miles  ;  and  I  think  there  are  only  two 
settlements — one  at  Turkeyville,  twenty  miles  distant,  and 
the  other  at  Alum  Spring,  still  twenty  miles  further.  The 
last  settler  I  found  to  be  a  Methodist,  holding  on  to  his  re- 
ligion and  waiting  for  the  Gospel.  I  promised  to  embrace 
him  and  his  family  in  the  circuit  next  year.  But  I  antici- 
pate. 

"  At  midnight  the  regular  stage  overtook  us,  and  we 
travelled  together  to  the  breakfast-house  at  Turkey  Creek. 
In  the  meantime,  we  crossed  the  Nueces,  a  large  river  on  the 


386  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.       [CnAP-  XIV 

maps,  famous  in  the  disputes  of  Texas  and  the  United  States 
as  to  the  western  boundary  of  Texas  ;  but,  to  my  astonish- 
ment, not  a  drop  of  water  in  its  rocky  bed.  During  the  long 
dry  seasons  common  to  this  region  the  water  sinks,  and  it  is 
only  here  and  there  that  man  or  beast  can  find  k  a  hole  '  that 
still  contains  the  precious  element.  The  channel  where  we 
crossed  is  wide,  the  bank-;  high,  and  there  is  room  for  a  no- 
ble stream.  The  timber  is  thick,  and  forms  the  hiding-place 
of  what  the  people  call  '  varmints,'  such  as  bear,  a  species  of 
leopard,  and  wild  cats. 

"  Turkey  Creek  is  a  beautiful  little  stream,  abounding  in 
fish  -with  a  clear  gushing  spring  on  its  bank  for  the  use  of 
the  only  family  which  as  yet  has  retreated  from  the  haunts  of 
men  to  find  a  home  in  this  lonely  solitude.  With  society, 
here  is  a  pleasant  place  to  live.  The  range  of  mountain  and 
prairie  for  stock,  plenty  of  live-oak  timber,  never  failing  wa 
ume  in  abundance — deer,  turkey,  bear,  fish  of  various 
kinds,  pure  air  and  good  health.  I  never  saw  so  many  wild 
turkeys  in  all  my  life  as  I  saw  in  this  place.     The  corral  (ci 

■  pen)  w,b  full  of  cattle,  an  improved  stock,  and  near  the 
house— if  erect  poles,  without  a  roof,  may  so  be  called — 
and  the  flies,  attracted  by  a  plate  of  honey  on  the  breakfa-t 
table,  swarmed  like  bees  and  took  p  n   of  everything. 

I  did  not  dispute  title  with  them,  but  paid  my  fare  and  re- 
treated, fasting. 

"  After  a  h<  >t  ride  of  three  hours  over  a  poor,  barren,  rocky 
country,  we  reached  Fort  Clarke,  and  stopped  to  arrange  for 
the  onward  trip. 

"  On  reaching  Fort  Clarke  we  had  to  make  our  final  ar- 
rangements for  the  long,  lonely  travel  before  us.  At  this 
point  we  bid  farewell  to  the  settlements.  For  five  hundred 
miles  there  is  not  a  human  habitation  except  at  the  military 
posts,  and  these  are  from  seventy-five  to  one  hundred  and 
twenty-five  miles  apart. 

"  Before  we  start,  I  may  say  that  nothing  surprised  me 
more  on  the  route  than  did  the  well-defined,  beaten  highway, 
where  I   had   expected   a    dim,    dubious    trail,    passable    by 


185fJ]  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  381 

wheels,  chiefly  on  account  of  its  simple,  natural  adaptation, 
We  not  only  have  a  road  well-located  but  worn  smooth  and, 
seemingly,  as  much  used  as  though  it  led  to  a  commercial 
city,  close  at  hand.  The  explanation  is  found  in  the  fact  of 
the  trade  from  New  Mexico,  Chihuahua,  and  Sonora,  to  San 
Antonio  ;  the  passage  of  Government  trains  between  the 
forts,  and  the  heavy  emigration  along  the  southern  route  to 
California.  Every  day  the  stage-traveller  meets  or  passes 
some  one  or  more  of  these  trains,  consisting  of  wagons  and 
carts  and  herds  of  cattle  or  horses,  teamsters  and  out-riders, 
men  on  foot,  women  and  children — always  a  company  large 
enough  to  constitute  a  sort  of  itinerant  society,  and  strong 
enough  to  fight  a  respectable  battle  if  the  Indians  should  be 
troublesome. 

"  In  the  solitary  wilds  it  is  quite  a  relief  to  see  a  human 
being — one  of  your  own  race — and  to  feel  that,  far  as  you  are 
from  home,  you  are  not  quite  out  of  the  world.  Sometimes, 
I  confess,  I  felt  like  a  fragment  of  creation  broken  off  at  both 
ends — all  the  associations  of  the  past  dissolved — afloat  and 
lost,  wandering,  adrift — an  unknown  sky  above  me — earth, 
desolate  and  bereaved  around  me,  all  silence  and  solitude — an 
orphan  look  about  every  thing,  as  though  God  had  smitten 
and  cursed,  and  human  life  had  all  perished  or  fled  the  land. 
One  of  these  moving  caravans — the  sound  of  the  human  voice 
— the  evidence  that  there  was  some  hospitable  point  ahead 
which  we  met  with  now  and  then,  revived  memory,  restored 
hope,  and  made  me  feel  that  we  might  once  more  mingle 
with  our  kind.      But,  I  forget  my  story. 

"  When  we  were  ready  for  a  start,  we  found  our  company 
consisted  of  three  ladies  and  fourteen  men.  This  latter  num- 
ber includes  passengers,  driver,  cook,  and  guard  ;  we  had  two 
stages,  one  drawn  by  five,  and  the  other  by  four  mules. 
Each  stage  had  a  driver  and  a  conductor  as  he  is  called  ;  there 
were  two  out-riders  to  the  train,  and  a  man,  dubbed  captain, 
who  orders  every  movement.  Myself,  wife,  daughter,  and  the 
three  preachers  occupied  one  stage,  with  our  luggage,  inside 
mostly,  and  yet  enough  behind  to  balance  the  stage.     On  the 


382  Life  ami  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.        [Chap.  xiv. 

front  seat  sat  the  driver,  guard,  and  conductor,  each  well- 
armed,  with  a  six-shooter,  and  one  or  two  of  Sharp's  rifles 
behind  the  cushion. 

"The  stage  is  not  the  old-fashioned  coach  of  the  East, 
but  a  kind  of  wagon,  with  an  oblong  body  set  on  leather 
braces,  having  three  seats,  into  which  nine  persons  might 
crowd,  but  four  or  even  six  might  find  room  enough.  A 
we  were  but  six  in  number,  and  one  very  small  one,  we  had 
m  irgin  for  change  of  position.  The  boot  of  the  other  stage 
was  our  store-room,  containing  cooking  utensils  and  provi- 
sions. The  captain  gave  the  word  of  command,  and  away 
we  went. 

"  The  general  plan  of  this  line  is  to  drive  the  same  team 
the  whole  day,  and  to  secure  speed  while  in  motion  and  yet 
save  the  mules  from  exhaustion,  this  arrangement  is  adopted  : 
We  travel  two  hours,  making  from  seven  to  ten  miles  an 
hour,  then  stop,  -trip  the  mule-,  hobble  them,  let  them  graze 
an  hour  or  more,  hitch  up  again,  travel  two  hours  more, 
stop  again,  and  so  on  till  nine  or  ten  at  night,  then  camp  till 
morning. 

"Start  very  early,  travel  two  hours:   while  stopping  t>> 
rest    and   refresh    the   mules    we   cook   breakfast   and   eat    it. 
Late  in  the  afternoon  we  stop  and  cook  another  meal,  this  i- 
dinner  and  supper  compounded.      With  this  explanation 
proceed. 

"  We  left  Fort  Clarke  after  dinner  on  the  22d  of  May  ;  about 
sunset  we  halted  on  the  bank  of  a  beautiful  little  stream,  and 
prepared  to  sup.      I  must  describe  this  operation  once  for  all. 

"  Our  cook  was  a  Mexican  named  Ramon,  a  bright,  good- 
humored,  cheerful  fellow — but  certainly  never  educated  for 
his  profession.  True,  our  larder  did  not  tax  his  skill  by  the 
variety  of  its  supplies,  but  his  performance  with  the  cofl 
pot  and  frying-pan  would  hive  satisfied  any  one,  even  less 
observant  than  myself,  that  a  more  complex  operation  would 
have  nonplussed  him  altogether. 

"  On  stopping,  all  the  employees  of  the  stage-line  spi 
themselves  in   quest   of  fuel.     A   few   dry   sticks   were   soon 


1859-]  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  383 

gathered — the  fire  kindled,  the  kettle  put  on,  and  water 
heated  ;  an  old  bag  is  brought  from  its  resting  place  in  the 
stage  boot,  its  open  mouth  laid  upon  the  ground,  the  other 
end  is  seized  and  suddenly  lifted,  and  out  come  tin-cups  and 
plates,  iron-spoons,  knives  and  forks,  helter-skelter  ;  another 
bag  rolls  slowly  out,  containing  the  bread  ;  presently  another 
cloth  is  unrolled,  and  a  piece  of  beef  appears.  Now  a  box 
is  brought  forth,  the  lid  is  raised,  and  we  behold  coffee, 
tea,  sugar,  salt,  pepper,  and  pickles — a  goodly  supply.  The 
coffee-pot  is  now  in  demand — Ramon  finds  it  soon,  and  you 
recognize  it  immediately  as  a  'venerable  institution,'  a  West- 
ern pioneer,  battered  by  hard  service,  besmeared  with  the 
smoke  of  long  martyrdom,  to  say  nothing  of  the  dust  of  long 
travel,  but  still  stout  and  ready  for  use.  The  ground  coffee 
is  put  in,  water  poured  on,  and  all  well  shaken — the  coals  are 
ready  and  the  pot  boils.  By  this  time  the  frying-pan  is  hot, 
the  lard  melted,  the  meat  sliced,  and  soon  our  senses  are  re- 
galed by  the  hissing  urn  and  the  simmering  flesh — the  sound 
is  pleasing  as  the  smell  is  savory.  China  as  well  as  Java 
cater  for  the  feast,  and  '  the  cup  which  cheers  but  not  in- 
ebriates '  will  soon  be  ready  also.  The  table-cloth  of  many 
colors,  all  inclined  to  dark — as  innocent  of  water  as  the  loom 
that  made  it — is  spread  upon  the  ground.  Plates,  tin-cups, 
knives  and  forks  are  arranged  in  order,  and  Ramon  an- 
nounces :  '  Supper  ready,  gentlemen.'  All  hands  gather 
about  '  the  cloth'  — oblivious  of  dirt,  careless  of  dainties — 
and  the  necessaries  of  life  disappear  very  rapidly.  The  frag- 
ments are  left  for  the  prairie  wolf  and  the  birds  of  the  air  ; 
the  cloth  is  shaken,  and  on  its  dingy  surface  a  few  more 
spots  appear,  of  the  same  sort,  however,  only  a  little  more 
lively  from  being  fresh  ;  the  unwashed  instruments  are  boxed 
and  bagged,  and  we  are  ready  to  travel. 

"  By  the  time  the  mules  were  harnessed  and  hitched 
night  was  upon  us.  Prudence  made  it  necessary  to  travel 
twenty  miles  further  for  a  safe  encampment. 

"  Where  we  supped,  and  for  miles,  there  was  a  thicket  of 
low  bushes,  fine  for  a  Comanche  ambush,  and  we  preferred 


384  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.       [Chap.  xiy. 

to  rest  where  our  '  watch  '  could  see  for  miles  around  him. 
This  precaution  is  universal  with  all  the  trains  on  this  route. 

"  When  all  were  seated,  we  whirled  away  too  fast  for  dan- 
ger from  any  savage  on  foot,  or,  indeed  from  any  but  a 
numerous  band.  About  half-past  ten  we  passed  a  camp  of 
traders,  and  soon  drew  up  on  the  same  plateau  and  prepared 
for  rest.  The  stage  we  occupied  was  soon  converted  into  a 
bed-chamber  for  Mrs.  Pierce  and  Ann.  By  a  judicious  ar- 
rangement of  trunks  and  cushions  a  bed  was  made — the  cur- 
tains were  buttoned  down — the  wife  and  child  laid  down  ;  I 
wrapped  my  travelling  blanket  around  me  and  slept  soundly. 
The  gentlemen  all  spread  their  cloaks,  shawls,  and  blankets 
on  the  ground,  aye,  even  the  dirty  road — for  fear  of  '  the 
snakes  in  the  grass' — and,  as  they  reported  in  the  morning, 
rested  well. 

"  Very  early  wc  were  up  and  off  again.  The  whole  coun- 
try is  poor  and  rock}' — a  bed  of  gravel — treeless,  and  with  but 

Ilty  herbage  of  any  kind.  VastneSS  is  the  only  attractive 
feature  ;  except  that  the  mountains— some  near  by,  others 
distant,  dim  and  blue — are  to  be  seen  all  around. 

"  Indeed,  I  may  as  well  remark  at  once,  that  I  have  been 
surprised  and  disappointed  the  whole  way.  Perhaps  I  was 
shamefully  ignorant  of  geography,  or  careless  in  my  reading. 
I  have  only  to  say  that  it  is  a  good  while  since  I  was  at 
•  1  ;  and,  in  my  early  days,  this  region  was  set  down  as 
■  an  unexplored  wilderness.'  Those  who  have  passed  through 
it  have  either  written  of  their  adventures  or  been  silent.  The 
route  is  always  spoken  of  as  a  journey  over  the  plains:  ac- 
cordingly, I  expected  to  see  a  level  country,  vast  prairies — 
unrelieved,  except  by  an  occasional  stream-  but,  it  is  a  world 
of  mountains.     From  Austin*  Texas,  to  San  Francisco,  Cali- 

*iat  you  never  lose  sight  of  mountains;  they  rise  up  be- 
fore you,  surround  you — rise  up  on  the  right  hand,  on  the 
left  hand — you  are  on  them,  below  them,  among  them,  at 
every  Step.  Yet,  except  when  compelled  to  ascend  or  cross 
one  of  the  huge  ridges  that  unite  the  chains,  the  road  is  level, 
or  of  such  easy  grade  up  or  down,  as  rarely  to  interfere  with 


1859-1  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  385 

the  speed  of  travel.  In  fact,  it  is  marvellous  how  such  a  high- 
way was  ever  found,  amid  difficulties  and  obstructions  that 
would  seem  insurmountable.  Of  course  it  is  zigzag,  tor- 
tuous— enough,  indeed,  to  wellnigh  double  the  distance. 
But  I  must  not  anticipate  too  much. 

"  After  a  run  of  two  or  three  hours  over  a  delightful  road 
we  found  ourselves  suddenly  descending  acanon  in  the  moun- 
tains of  the  San  Pedro  or  Devil's  River.  This  is  a  very  nar- 
row gorge,  and  doubles  some  very  sharp  points — the  high 
walls,  almost  perpendicular,  loom  up  on  either  side  and  throw 
down  a  deep,  dark  shadow,  and,  as  you  go  down,  down,  the 
air  gets  damper  and  cooler,  and  you  begin  to  think  of  tunnels 
and  vaults  and  subterranean  dungeons,  and  presently  the  roar 
of  water  breaks  upon  the  ear,  and  then,  suddenly,  right  at 
your  feet,  there  rolls  one  of  the  brightest  streams  of  pure 
rushing  water,  pouring  over  the  ledges  of  its  rocky  bed,  as  if 
dancing  in  gladness  to  the  sound  of  its  own  music. 

"  At  the  point  of  crossing  the  river  is  wide — the  bottom 
a  solid  limestone  rock — the  banks  fringed  with  green  ;  the 
mountains,  of  fantastic  shape,  some  looking  like  huge  tumuli 
— the  graves  of  the  sons  of  Anak  ;  others  like  temples  in 
ruin  ;  others,  like  the  columnar  memorials  of  past  history  ; 
and,  here  and  there  a  vast  pile  of  boulders  and  fragmentary 
rocks— victims  of  some  old  earthquake — footprints  of  a  geo- 
logical upheaval  {post  Adamite,  I  trow)  ;  here,  too,  are  glens 
and  gorges,  cloud-capped  towers  and  humble  nooks  ;  caves  of 
darkness  and  vistas  of  beauty  ;  the  lonely  river,  with  its  flash- 
ing water,  leaping  and  laughing  as  a  child  in  its  frolic  ;  and, 
as  it  sweeps  along  to  the  base  of  some  hoary  rock,  huge  and 
high,  pausing  into  a  stillness — arrested,  dumb,  like  the  same 
child  in  the  presence  of  wisdom  and  years.  The  scene  is 
lovely,  grand,  enchanting.  The  impression  is  sublime,  thrill- 
ing, religious.  You  feel  like  praising  the  God  who  made  it. 
I  felt,  if  I  had  such  a  retreat  for  daily  private  prayer  I  would 
be  a  better  man.  It  humbles,  exalts,  awes,  subdues,  exhil- 
arates. The  vision  is  worth  far  more  than  all  the  toil  and 
money  it  would  cost  to  reach  it — even  though  you  came  from 
2S 


Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.        [<'"^,••  X1V 

Aroostook  or  the  Capes  of  Florida.  The  Spanish  fathers 
called  the  river  San  Pedro  (St.  Peter),  after  the  apostle.  Fit 
name  for  the  hills  and  rocks,  and  the  waters  preach  adoration 
of  God.  What  a  barbarism  ! — almost  profanity,  to  call  it 
Devil's  River  !  Ala-,  we  Americans  are  a  practical ',  not  an 
(esthetic  people." 

On  the}-  went  through  the  unsettled  prairies,  and,  omit- 
ting one  letter,  we  get  another  view. 

"We  left  Howard  Spring  after  breakfast,  ami  pursued 
our  journey  through  the  day  without  any  special  incident  by 
the  way.  The  country  is  poor,  dry,  and  rocky.  The  only 
growth  is  a  dwarfish  me/quit  and  a  species  of  palmetto  with  a 
long,  serrated  leaf,  commonly  called,  in  Southeast  Georgia, 
'  saw-palmetto.' 

"  We   met   several  government   train-,  a  herd    or  t\\ 
horses  in  transit  from  Mexico  to  the  interior  of  Texas — mere 
scrub-stock,  not  of  much  value  anywh 

"In  the  afternoon  we  saw  a  great  many  antelopes,  in  dif- 
[uads  among  the  hills  ;   but,  as  usual,  they  were  too 
shy  either  for  close  inspection  .>r  successful  shoot; 

"  The  mountains  continue  seem  to  grow  higher — and,  if 
possible,  more  wild  and  bleak. 

"  The  ramie — perpetually    shifting 

always  desolate.  We  have  here  uniformity  of  change — a 
monotony  of  variety — hill,  mountain,  vale,  cave,  gorge, 
canon,  precipice — all  alike  in  loneliness  and  sterility — the  very 
nakedness  of  ruin. 

"  Finally,  after  ascending  a  mountain,  we  enter  upon  the 
southern  extremity  of  the  Llano  Estacado,  or  '  the  Staked 
Plains,'  and,  on  looking  back",  a  very  remarkable  change  ap- 
The  mountains  through  which  we  had  been  toiling 
are  seen  no  more — the  innumerable  summits  seem  blended, 
the  points  and  crags  and  inequalities  are  lost,  and  there  lire 
before  the  gaze  almost  a  perfect  plain.  The  change  is  • 
marvellous  ;   it  is,  however,  only  the  magic  of  elevation. 

"  These  letters  are  likely  to  grow  tedious.  I  must  then- 
fore  t  unit  details  of  night-encampments,  description  of  scenery, 


1859-]  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  387 

and  the  every-day  events  of  this  long,  tedious  trip.  Select- 
ing from  the  mass  materials  enough  for  a  few  letters,  I  will 
sum  up  in  a  closing  epistle  my  views  of  the  country,  its  wants 
and  prospects. 

"  Fort  Lancaster,  the  next  point  of  interest,  was  reached 
about  noon  the  26th  of  May.  After  crossing  the  plain  we  came 
suddenly  upon  the  most  frightful  descent  upon  the  whole  route. 
The  road  has  been  cut  out  of  the  mountain-side,  and  runs  along 
upon  the  brink  of  a.  precipice  of  awful  depth.  To  go  down  in 
safety  requires  all  the  help  and  precautions  for  such  cases 
made  and  provided. 

"  The  fort  is  upon  the  valley  below,  and  consists  of  adobe- 
houses  mainly,  neatly  arranged,  and  constituting  cool  retreats 
from  the  almost  intolerable  heat  of  this  region.  The  ther- 
mometer, I  think,  was  1040  on  the  day  of  our  arrival.  The 
wind,  confined  by  the  mountains,  was  pouring  like  a  torrent 
through  the  vale  ;  and  yet,  in  passing  over  deserts  of  sand 
and  rock,  had  become  so  dry  and  hot  as  hardly  to  affect  the 
temperature  at  all.  Nevertheless,  to  one  in  the  shade  it  was 
very  refreshing. 

"  Here  we  dined,  changed  teams,  and  set  out  afresh.  In  a 
few  miles  we  crossed  the  Pecos  River — a  deep,  muddy,  brack- 
ish stream — -and  travelled  late  at  night  in  order  to  find  a  place 
open  enough  for  a  camp.  In  this  region  the  Indians  are  very 
troublesome,  and  the  traveller  must  needs  be  wary.  The 
mules  were  tied  fast — some  to  the  bushes  and  some  to  the 
wheels;  a  double  guard  was  stationed,  and  the  rest  of  the 
company  went  to  rest.     Fortunately  we  were  not  disturbed. 

"  Very  early  we  were  up  and  off.  The  poor  mules  were 
supperless,  needed  water,  and  a  few  miles  ahead  was  a  famous 
spring  and  plenty  of  grass.  The  spring  is  called  Escondido, 
which  means  hidden. 

"  At  the  foot  of  a  mountainous  pile  of  volcanic  rock  the 
waters  break  out  ;  but  are  so  concealed  by  bulrushes  and 
flags  as  to  be  invisible  until,  by  a  circuitous  path,  you  reach 
the  very  rock  from  under  which  they  flow.  When  you  have 
found  it,  before  you  drink  you  will  have  to  settle  a  serious 


383  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.       [0"**  XIV 

controversy  between  sight  and  smell.  The  sulphurous  odors 
which  come  up  from  the  muddy  bed  right  below  will  sicken  you 
and  tempt  you  to  turn  away  ;  but  the  bright  water,  clear  and 
cool,  looks  so  inviting,  you  will  conclude  that,  although  in  bad 
company,  it  must  itself  be  good  and  pure.  Sight,  supported 
by  long  thirst,  will  carry  the  day  ;  you  dip  ami  think',  and 
then  find  that  the  argument  is  on  the  side  of  smell.  The  nose 
is  a  better  judge  than  the  eye.  Alas!  -in  this  world  of  de- 
lusions— good-looking  things  are  not  always  pleasant.  '  All 
is  not  gold  that  glitters.' 

"  In  the  evening  we  reached  the  other  stage,  encamped 
and  waiting  for  us.  While  waiting  for  us,  the  driver  had 
killed  a  fine  buck,  and,  after  camping  together  that  night, 
we  had  a  feast  of  fat  things  in  the  morning  ;  venison  steak, 
after  feeding  a  day  or  two  on  jerked  b  ivory — very. 

"  Tii  •  mountains  are  changed  in  form,  and  constitute  a 
remarkable  feature  of  this  region.      They  are  circular,  conical, 

smooth,  oblong  ridges  with  abrupt  terminations,  now  undu kit- 
like  the  waves  of  the  ocean — yonder  towers  one,  gray 
and  venerable  ;  while  around,  in  a  group,  are  several  others 
of  various  altitudes  and  dimensi<  ins,  .ill  of  one  family — making 
you  think  of  an  old  man  and  his  household.  There  is  one  like 
a  cent  re -table  in  a  parlor,  yonder  is  another,  solitary  and  alone 
— he  seems  to  have  fallen  out  with  them,  and  set  up  for  him- 
self and  presently  you  may  -ee  long,  smooth  stretches  of 
mountain  like  a  fortification  with  a  grand  old  gateway  in  the 
centre,  opening  to  some  feudal  stronghold  beyond  ;  while  on 
every  hand  there  are  towers,  temples,  and  domes— tumuli, 
pyramids,  and  monumental  piles — you  feel  at  last  as  if  you 
were  among  the  grand  old  relics  of  some  primeval  world. 

"  On  the  27th  we  reached  (amp  Stockton,  better  known, 
however,   as    'Comanche   Springs.'        This  is  a  new  military 

t,  located  in  an  open  plain,  and  as  yet  has  the  most  ex- 
temporaneous arrangement  for  the  accommodation  of  the  sol- 
diers. 'Shanty  '  is  the  term  employed  in  the  East  to  express 
the  lowest  style  of  a  human  dwelling;  but  the  stick  affairs 
here  are  of  a  lower  grade  still — too  low  to  be  described.     For 


1859]  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  389 

the  present,  the  place  is  called  a  camp.  The  men  were  busy, 
however,  erecting  houses — a  sort  of  concrete,  across  between 
a  stone  building  and  an  adobe.  Water  is  abundant  and  very- 
good  ;  but  the  supply  for  fuel  is  a  little  curious,  consisting  al- 
most entirely  of  the  roots  of  the  mezquit-bushes.  Strange  to 
tell,  these  little  dwarfish  bushes  have  immense  roots — exceed- 
ing in  size  and  number  those  of  many  large  trees. 

"The  kindness  of  Lieutenant  Sherman  and  Mrs.  Sherman 
I  shall  not  soon  forget.  We  dined  with  them,  and,  in  view  of 
long  abstinence,  felt  most  pleasantly  recruited.* 

"  Here  we  dropped  some  of  our  passengers  ;  and,  as  the 
number  left  was  too  small  for  two  stages,  we  were  crowded 
into  one.  Six  mules  were  hitched,  and  eight  more  were 
driven  ahead.  We  had  two  out-riders — one  to  drive  the  loose 
train,  and  another  to  ride  by  the  one  in  harness;  the  last  was 
armed  with  a  large  whip,  with  which  he  kept  the  team  excited. 
His  blows  were  hearty  and  frequent.  We  travelled  two 
hours,  eight  or  ten  miles  an  hour — stopped  and  rested ; 
changed  teams,  and  proceeded  in  the  same  order. 

"  At  night  we  camped  in  as  bleak  a  place  as  could  well  be 
found.  The  winds  were  fierce  and  cold.  The  nights  contrast 
strangely  with  the  days.  The  sun  is  tropically  hot ;  but, 
when  you  lie  down  to  sleep  at  night,  an  overcoat  and  two 
good  blankets  are  no  incumbrance. 

"We  stopped  at  Barilla  Springs  for  breakfast.  Found 
there  a  large  train  of  emigrants.  Two  ladies  came  down  to 
the  stage  to  talk  with  Mrs.  Pierce.  The  oldest  said  she  was 
moving  simply  to  follow  her  daughter;  the  daughter  said  she 
was  following  her  husband.  I  inquired  into  their  history  a 
little.  They  had  moved  from  Tennessee  to  Mississippi ;  then 
to  Texas,  now  to  California. 

"  I  said,  '  I  suppose  you  will  go  next  to  the  Sandwich 
Islands.' 

"  The  young  one  replied,  with  some  spirit,  '  If  I  ever  get 

*  Lieutenant  Sherman,  whose  kindness  was  so  great  as  he  passed  through 
Texas,  came  near  to  the  bishop,  some  five  years  after  this,  but,  much  to  the 
bishop's  gratification,  did  not  call.  He  was  then  Lieutenant-General  Sherman, 
of  the  United  States  Army,  on  his  famous  march  to  the  sea. 


-■•<>  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.       [Ohaf.  xiv 

to  California,  you  may  bet  your  bottom  dollar  that  I'll  never 
move  again.' 

"  The  emigration  from  Texas  to  California  is  very  heavy. 
The  Atlantic  States  yield  thousands  to  Texas;  and  Texas, 
in  her  turn,  sends  them  to  the  Pacific  ;  and,  to  my  astonish- 
ment, 1  find  scores  here  about  to  come  back  to  Texas.  An 
American  humanity  is  a  restless  one;  most  commonly,  one 
move  unsettles  a  man  fur  life. 

"  1  lie  mountains  along  here  arc  wild  and  grand.  I  -iiy 
pect  the}'  abound  in  iron  ore.  They  will  make  you  think  of 
Baalbec,  Thebes,  Palmyra,  or  Tadmor  in  the  wilderness — the 
silence,  solitude,  and  desolation  of  antiquity  seem  to  brood 
over  the  scene.     Fallen  column-;,  demolished  temples,  towers 

in  ruin,  patches  of  old  fortifications,  palaces  deserted,  rem- 
nants of  architectural  grandeur  still  mouldering  in  sad  decay — 
a  thousand  similitudes  like  these  force  themselves  upon  your 
fancy,  .1-  you  1  ok  out  upon  the  fantastic  shapes  about  you; 
t  >r  the  stillness  is  sepulchral.  Solemnity  steals  over  the  mind. 
The  rattling  of  the  coach-wheels  has  an  irreverent  sound, 
which  jars  upon  the  feelings  like  laughter  in  a  graveyard. 
All  around  is  rugged,  bleak  desolation.  Vegetation  is  dead, 
.1-  if  nature  sympathized  with  the  ruin  of  ages,  and  meant  to 
Add  her  spoils  to  the  mournful  pile. 

"  finally  we  reached  a  spring  called  '  Lympia  ;'  around  it 
was  a  little  verdure,  and  here,  for  the  first  time  for  a  long 
while,  we  saw  some  deer  and  antelope.  They  had  doubtless 
travelled  to  find  water. 

"  Here  we  enter  into  'Grand  Pass,'  the  only  outlet  through 
the  rocky  barriers  of  this  melancholy  region. 

"We  got  through  as  the  sun  was  setting;  and  on  the 
right  was  a  long  broken  ridge  of  mountains,  with  sharp  rocks, 
ting  up  like  steeples  and  spires— and  above  were  clouds, 
rolling  and  tossing  with  the  wind — the  reflected  light  likened 
them  to  smoke  and  flame  ascending  from  a  city  on  fire.  We 
thought   of  Moscow   and   the  Kremlin.      Thunder  bellowed 

1   the  darkening  sky,  lightnings  flashed,  the  wind  blew  a 

.    and   we  thought   a  storm  of  rain  was  coming.     A  few 


185».]  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  391 

random  drops  fell,  and  all  but  the  wind  was  still.  That  raged 
on.     We  had  reached  Fort  Davis,  where  we  camped. 

"  From  Camp  Stockton  to  Fort  Davis  is  one  hundred 
and  twenty-five  miles.  The  road  is  generally  very  fine,  and 
the  scenery  grand.  We  passed  a  place  called  '  Barrel 
Springs,'  and  stopped  to  dine  on  a  rocky  hill,  where  the  only 
fuel  to  be  found  was  the  trunk  of  a  decayed  cabbage-tree, 
otherwise  known  as  Spanish  Bayonet. 

"  In  the  afternoon  we  came  to  '  Dead  Man's  Hole,'  a 
most  revolting  name  for  a  spring  of' the  best  water  on  the 
route. 

"The  mountains  along  here  are  lovely;  live-oaks  abound, 
and  resemble  an  apple-orchard  in  the  order  of  their  growth. 
Some  of  the  mountains  are  naked,  others  are  covered  with 
dead  grass,  very  yellow  in  the  sunlight ;  others,  spotted  all 
over  with  these  orchard-like  trees.  The  valleys  are  poor  gen- 
erally, and  naked.  In  them  are  to  be  found  those  curiosities 
of  the  West — '  dog-towns.' 

"The  prairie-dog  is  a  marvel  in  natural  history.  These 
little  animals  live  in  communities.  They  burrow  in  the  ground, 
and  a  pile  of  dirt  marks  the  mouth  of  every  habitation. 
Some  of  them  are  mere  villages,  others  may  be  classed  as 
towns,  and  others  as  cities.  Nothing  but  population,  how- 
ever, marks  the  difference.  The  architecture  is  all  of  one 
pattern. 

"For  two  days  before  we  reached  the  Rio  Grande  the 
same  general  features  of  country  prevailed.  All  is  parched, 
dry,  and  sad-looking.  If  I  had  no  experience  of  this  region, 
and  were  dropped  down  here,  my  first  impression  would  be 
that  no  animal  life  could  be  sustained  in  it.  This,  however, 
would  be  a  mistake.  Antelopes  live  here  and  keep  fat.  Ox- 
teams  innumerable  pass  through,  and,  if  not  overdriven,  im- 
prove. The  explanation  is  this  :  Whenever  it  rains,  and  this 
is  at  long  intervals,  the  grass  springs,  and  grows  as  long  as 
the  moisture  lasts,  and  when  the  drought  comes  on  dies  before 
it  reaches  maturity.  It  is  not  therefore  dead,  decaying  vege- 
tation, but  well-cured  hay,  and  very  nutritious.     As  no  rains 


392  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.       [Cum-.  -XIV 

» 

or  dews  fall  in  this  country,  it  keeps  from  month  to  month. 
Stock  of  all  kinds  are  very  fond  of  it.  Vast  herds  may  be  seen 
in  some  places,  leaving  the  streams,  where  there  is  some 
verdure,  and  resulting  to  the  plains  to  feed  on  this  dry  grass. 
There  had  been  no  rain,  I  was  told,  for  two  years,  and,  of 
course,  no  decomposition.  Nature  provides  the  hay,  and  the 
beasts  of  the  field  do  their  own  mowing.  Xo  need  of  store- 
house or  barn. 

"  On  the  night  of  May  31st  wc  made  our  last  encamp- 
ment, and  the  next  day",  early  in  the  afternoon,  reached  '  Eagle 
Spring  ;  '  a  name  I  had  often  noticed  upon  the  maps,  little 
thinking  I  should  ever  see  the  place.  The  spring  is  a  mere 
hole  in  the  ground,  half  full  of  milky-looking  w.iter,  as  un- 
it is  ill-favored. 

'•  Eagle  Mountain,  near  by,  is  awful  in  its  grandeur— and 
the  place  is  one  of  interest,  as  the  scene  of  some  Indian  mur- 
ders a  year  or  two  since.  Three  graves  mark  the  spot  where 
the  emigrants  were  slain.  It  is  a  place  in  which  to  be  sad  ; 
and  when  you  look  around  and  see  the  hiding-places  from 
which   the  treacheroi  \t   might  wing  his  arrow  or  send 

his  death-dealing  bullet,  you  feel  a  little  nervous. 

"  Nevertheless  we  rested  here  an  hour,  and  walked  about 
in  .is  much  security  as  elsewhcn  .  id   a  sort  of 

mongrel  palmetto  are  the  only  products  of  this  arid  region. 
With  their  long,  naked  stems  and  bushy  tops,  as  you  whirl  by 
them  in  the  dark,  they  look  like  the  outposts  of  an  army — 
•r  their  sleeping  comradi 

"  The  road,  after  leaving  the  spring,  lies  for  miles  mainly 
in  the  bed  of  what  in  wet  weather  is  a  considerable  stream. 
Rocks — rocks  !  above,  below,  around. 

"  Finally  we  emerge  from  the  desolation,  and  in  the  val- 
ley  bdow  wc  see  the  far-famed   Rio  Grande.      Green  tr< 
line  the    banks— oh,   how    refreshing    to    the   eye    weary    •  I 
nd,  and  vegetable  death  ! 

"  Under  a  wide-spreading  cotton-wood  the  driver  halted, 
and  for  a  season  wc  luxuriate  in  shade.  We  go  down  to  the 
river— what   a  disappointment  !      I  expected  to  see  a  bold, 


1859-]  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  393 

dashing  stream  of  clear,  cool  water — but,  lo  !  a  narrow,  muddy 
sluggish  one,  with  scarce  a  perceptible  current.  I  stooped 
to  drink,  and  thought,  as  the  river  was  swollen  by  the  melt- 
ing snows,  that  I  should  once  more  get  a  cooling  draught ; 
but  no  !  it  was  warm  as  a  Southern  mill-pond  in  the  month 
of  June.  This  was  the  first  river  and  the  first  impression. 
Our  route  lies  up  the  river  for  eighty  miles  or  more,  and, 
perhaps,  we  shall  see  it  to  more  advantage. 

"  Five  miles  more  and  we  reach  Fort  Quitman.  A  few 
adobe  houses  and  some  rude  stick  tents,  deep  sand,  and  broad 
sunshine,  as  hot  as  I  ever  felt,  are  among  my  recollections  of 
the  place^  When  we  stopped  to  deliver  the  mail,  a  gentle- 
man came  up  to  inquire  of  a  train  behind.  He  seemed  to 
long  for  its  arrival,  that  he  might  hasten  his  escape  from 
what  he  called  '  this  God-forsaken  country.' 

"  The  river  was  rising  and  threatened  to  overflow  the 
place.  The  people  were  full  of  fears,  for  their  adobe  houses 
were  certain  to  cave  in  if  the  water  reached  them.  I  hope 
they  escaped  the  dreaded  calamity. 

"  After  dinner  we  started  for  El  Paso,  with  the  assurance 
that  the  road  was  bad,  and  that  we  must  travel  all  night. 
We  verified  both  declarations. 

"The  sand  was  deep,  and  occasionally  the  rut  was  cut 
into  holes  of  great  depth,  and  the  mere  shaking  of  the  vehicle 
was  torturing  to  tired  limbs. 

"  Just  before  sunset  we  saw  an  exciting  chase — a  wolf  and 
a  mule  rabbit.  Terror  spurred  one,  appetite  the  other — each 
was  doing  his  best ;  which  won  the  race  I  do  not  know,  for  a 
turn  in  the  road  hid  them  from  our  view.  I  must  skip  till 
'  morning  light  appears.'  Darkness  and  sleep  both  pre- 
vented me  from  seeing  much. 

'■  Just  before  day  the  rising  water  compelled  the  driver 
to  abandon  the  road,  and  hunt  a  new  route  through  the  sand- 
hills on  the  edge  of  the  river  bottom — and  as,  with  the  rest, 
I  had  to  walk,  my  impressions  are  not  very  favorable.  The 
only  remarkable  thing  on  the  way  is,  here  and  there  a  human 
habitation.      We  had  not  seen  one  for  five  hundred  miles. 


894  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.       COhap.  xiv. 

"  In  the  morning  \vc  reached  San  Hlezario,  an  old  Mexi- 
can village,  with  a  few  Pueblo  Indians  scattered  around. 
Some  Americans,  too,  have  found  their  way  out  here. 

"  We  halted  for  breakfast  and  fared  very  well.  The  host 
was  an  American  and  his  wife  a  Mexican.  Here,  too,  are 
gardens  and  orchards  and  fields.  The  sight  was  reviving. 
For  production,  the  sole  dependence  is  irrigation.  The  soil 
is  fine — a  rich  alluvial.  Soon  we  came  to  another  village, 
Socorro  ;  and  then  to  Isleta — all  of  them  old  Catholic  sta- 
tions, where  Mexicans  and  Indians  were  taught — alas,  not 
Christianity,  but  Romanism.  On  the  Texan  side  the  valley 
of  the  Rio  Grande  is  narrow,  and  Dot  of  much  value. 

"  We  passed  Fort  Bliss  in  a  cloud  of  dust,  and  soon  drove 
into  El  Paso.  Alighted  at  the  only  hotel  in  the  place,  glad 
t<>  escape  the  scorching  ^un  and  I  r  a  season. 

"  T3  from  Antonio   runs  no   further  than    El  P 

and  we  had  to  wait  two  days  for  '  the  Overland,'  as  it  is 
called.  Here  my  free  ticket  expired,  and  new  arrangements 
livid  to  be  made.  We  had  travelled  seven  hundred  miles,  and 
h.id  thirteen  hundred  more  to  go,  so  that  a  little  rest  was  not 
OUt  of  order. 

"  El  Paso,  in  Texas,  is  a  very  small  town  ;  but  El  Paso, 
in    Mexico,  directly  op]  a  considerable  place.      It  is 

.t  very  old  town,  and  like  Mexican  towns  generally,  is  very 
irregular  in  shape.  It  has  an  air  of  antiquity  about  it  that 
interests,  and  signs  of  dilapidation  and  abandonment  which 
tell  of  revolution  and  bad  government  During  Santa  Anna's 
last  reign,  windows  were  heavily  taxed,  and  to  evade  his 
oppression  in  many  houses  the  sash  were  removed,  and  the 
opening  walled  up.  I  saw  several  habitations  without  a 
window,  and  with  only  a  single  door. 

'  "The  present  contest  between  the  Liberal  and  the  Church 
party  has  driven  many  of  the  best  citizens  into  exile  ;  some 
are  imprisoned — and  the  business  and  prosperity  of  the  place 

much  damaged. 

''The  valley  of  the  Rio  Grande  is  one  of  the  richest  and 
loveliest  I  ever  saw.      Here  arc  the  largest  pear-trees  I  ever 


iy59-]  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  395 

beheld.  Fruit-trees  in  general  are  cultivated  by  every  house- 
holder. The  vineyards  are  large  and  carefully  tended. 
Grape-culture  and  wine-making  are  the  chief  dependence  for 
myney.  It  was  too  early  for  grapes,  but  I  tasted  the  wine 
and  found  it  excellent — far  superior,  to  my  uncultivated  taste, 
to  most  of  the  European  brands.  The  vines  are  singularly 
managed.  There  is  no  frame  for  them  to  run  on — no  stake 
to  uphold  them.  They  are  pruned  very  close  every  year, 
and  the  main  stem  becomes  stout  and  strong,  and  looks  like 
a  stump,  usually  about  two  feet  high.  The  young  vines 
shoot  out  from  this  old  stock,  and  are  left  to  wave  in  the 
wind. 

"  Wheat  grows  finely  here.  The  fields  are  not  enclosed. 
Irrigation  is  universal.  There  is  one  large  canal  (we  would 
term  it — the  Mexicans  call  it  acqouia — pronounced  acokid) 
with  little  trenches  running  in  every  direction,  which  form 
squares  ;  in  these  the  water  is  allowed  to  stand  till  absorbed 
by  the  earth. 

"  I  was  much  interested  in  the  style  and  instrument  of 
ploughing.  A  long  pole,  with  a  natural  or  artificial  prong — 
sometimes  faced  with  iron  atone  end  ;  a  pair  of  oxen,  with  the 
yoke  lashed fast  to  the  horns  ;  one  Mexican  to  hold  the  plough, 
another  to  drive  the  team — constitutes  the  arrangement.  It 
is  a  scratching  operation.  Nebuchadnezzar,  at  the  end  of  his 
grazing,  could  have  done  as  well  with  his  finger-nails.  Strange 
to  say,  however,  I  was  informed  that  the  American  settlers 
on  the  Rio  Grande  who  ploughed  deep,  after  the  Eastern 
fashion,  had  been  constrained  to  abandon  their  way  and  adopt 
the  style  of  the  country,  as  best  adapted  to  production.  I 
find  the  same  theory  of  culture  in  California.  If  I  were  writ- 
ing for  an  agricultural  paper  I  would  speculate  a  little — as  it 
is,  I  forbear. 

"  The  Cathedral  is  a  venerable  building,  said  to  be  one 
hundred  and  fifty  years  old.  It  is  an  adobe  structure,  and 
looks  like  it  might  last  another  century.  It  is  the  chief  build- 
ing in  the  town — fronts  the  Plaza — and  is  conspicuous  from 
many  points  of  observation. 


3!)C  Life  ami  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.        EOhap.  xiv. 

"When  Congress  modified  the  Gadsden  Treaty  and  left 
the  valley  of  the  Rio  Grande  to  Mexico,  a  great  mistake  was 
made.  Unless  her  silver  mines  should  turn  out  to  be  an  off- 
set, the  whole  of  Arizona  is  not  as  valuable.  Hut  I  must  not 
anticipate. 

"  At  El  Paso  I  found  several  pleasant  acquaintances. 
Among  them  Judge  Hart,  whose  kindness  I  can  but  com- 
memorate. He  was  once  an  officer  in  the  U.  S.  A.,  but  re- 
signed, married,  and  settled  near  El  Paso,  on  the  banks  of 
the  Rio  Grande.  His  location  is  as  barren  as  can  be  found 
in  the  Union,  and  yet  he  had  the  forecast  to  see  that  a  fabu- 
lous fortune  could  be  made  just  there.  He  built  a  mill  for 
grinding  wheat,  and  has  a  monopoly  of  the  Far  West  in  the 
flour  trade.  Intelligent,  refined,  and  liberal,  he  has  made  a 
character  as  well  as  a  fortune  ;  and,  in  his  adobe  palace,  he 
dispenses  an  elegant  hospitality.  His  house  is  an  oasis  in  a 
desert.  His  polite  attention  and  exceeding  kindness  tome 
and  mine  will  be  long  remembered.  He  isa  Catholic  by  edu- 
cation and  profession,  but  generously  proposed  to  aid  me 
in  building  a  Southern  Methodist  church,  and  in  supporting 
a  preacher. 

"God  willing,  I  expect  to  provide  for  this  place  when  the 
Conference  meets  at  Goliad  in  November.  There  are  several 
points  to  which  the  attention  of  the  Church  ought  to  be  turn*  d 
in  this  Western  wilderness.  There  ought  to  be  preaching 
at  all  military  posts,  and  wherever  there  is  a  nucleus  of  a  set- 
tlement the  Gospel  should  be  sent.  It  is  my  purpose  to  ex- 
tend the  appointment  in  the  Pacific  Conference  Eastward 
and  of  the  Rio  Grande  Westward,  and  I  hope  the  policy  will 
prevail  till  the  lines  are  coterminus. 

"  I  re. id  in  my  boyhood  of  'the  vale  of  Avoca,  where 
bright  waters  meet,'  and  admired  the  poet's  descriptive 
power.  My  hopes  paint  a  lovelier  scene,  not  far  in  the  fu- 
ture, when  two  pioneer  preachers  shall  shake  hands  at  Tuc- 
son or  Fort  Yuma,  and  mutually  say  :  '  Now  tJianks  be  unto 
God  that  always  tauseth  us  to  triumph  in  Christ,  and  mafc- 
eth  manifest  the  savor  of  his  knowledge  by  us  in  every  place.' 


185ft]  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  397 

"  To  consummate  this  plan,  the  Church  needs  men  of  the 
type  of  those  who  signalized  the  heroic  days  of  Methodism  ; 
men  who  can  sleep  without  beds  ;  live  without  dainties  ;  eat 
beans  and  bacon  ;  endure  thirst  and  want ;  be  strong  in  the 
faith,  and  keep  happy  in  God  ;  work  without  stint;  and  hold 
on  to  the  end. 

"  Where  are  they  ?  Who  will  answer  :  '  Here  am  I  ! 
Send  me  ?  '     Heaven  help  us  to  do  our  duty." 

The  Bishop  had  now  reached  El  Paso.  He  found  himself 
here  in  quite  an  embarrassment.  His  free  tickets  had  given 
out ;  and  all  his  money  was  in  bills  of  exchange  on  San  Fran- 
cisco. He  went  to  the  stage  office,  and  to  his  astonishment 
the  clerk  said:  "Why,  Mr.  Pierce;  I  know  you."  They 
found  that  they  had  known  each  other  in  Warren  County, 
Ga.,  when  the  agent  drove  a  stage  there.  He  relieved  the 
Bishop's  mind  by  telling  him,  he  could  pay  his  travelling  ex- 
penses in  San  Francisco.  Judge  Hart,  whom  he  mentions 
so  gratefully,  sent  his  carriage  for  him  and  took  him  to  his 
house,  where  his  lovely  Spanish  wife  received  him  with  kindest 
hospitality.  He  had  him  at  his  house,  which  was  on  the  way 
the  stage  went,  and  ere  it  came  the  Judge  went  to  a  desk 
and  taking  ten  gold  eagles  gave  them  to  the  Bishop,  to  pay 
his  expenses  by  the  way.  His  next  letter  tells  of  further 
progress. 

"  The  Superintendent  having  assured  me  one  afternoon 
that  the  stage  could  not  arrive  before  the  next  morning,  I 
accepted  the  invitation  of  Judge  Hart,  and  went  out  to  spend 
the  night  at  his  hospitable  mansion.  Myself  and  wife  and 
daughter  had  just  retired  and  were  sinking  into  delightful 
sleep  when  the  roll  of  wheels  swiftly  revolving  over  the 
gravelly  road  smote  upon  our  drowsy  ears.  In  a  moment  or 
two  the  driver  hailed  and  urged  speedy  preparation.  Here 
was  a  trial.  Sleep  is  in  itself  a  luxury  ;  a  good  bed  makes  it 
more  so  ;  and  to  give  up  both  at  an  unseasonable  hour,  and 
go  scaling  mountains  in  the  dark,  and  then  plunging  down 
on  the  other  side,  now  walled  in,  and  then  driving  on  the 
brink  of  precipices,  was  far  from  comfortable.     But  go  we 


398  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.        [Chap.  XIV. 

must.  To  add  to  our  troubles,  the  Rio  Grande  was  swollen 
by  the  melting  snows  and  had  overflowed,  driving  us  from 
the  accustomed  track  and  constraining  us  to  extemporize  a 
road.  Withal  I  was  assured  that  on  reaching  Fort  Fillmore, 
forty-five  miles  distant,  I  could  go  no  farther  on  account  of 
the  spreading  waters.  The  driver  said  that  I  would  have  to 
u.ule  waist-deep  for  half  a  mile  to  reach  the  ferry — that  the 
und  was  so  soft  and  miry  that  the  stage  could  not  possibly 
go  across.  '  You  might  get  through,  sir,  but  what  will  you 
do  with  your  wife  and  little  girl  ?  '  said  one  and  another.  I 
simply  inquired  if  I  could  find  anybody  about  the  Fort  to 
'  pack  '  my  baggage  over.  '  O  yes.'  Very  well.  I  had  made 
up  my  mind  to  make  a  raft  of  planks  and  put  Mrs.  Pierce  and 
little  Ann  upon  it  and  to  pull  it  over.  By  the  way,  we  had 
to  divide  our  company  and  leave  two  of  the  young  preachers 
for  the  nex5  Brother   1).,  who  was  with  me.  said   he 

would  help  me  in  my  impromptu  navigation.     So,  against  all 
remonstrances,  on  we  went.      I  am   too  old  a  traveller  to  be 
I    by    reported    difficulties    fifty    miles    ahead  of  me. 
What  many  people  think  impracticable  is  easy  of  accomplish 
ment  ofttim  olution  is  brought  to  the  task.      Rum.  rs 

of  danger  ami  difficulty  are  seldom  to  be  relied  on;  so  at 
least  I  have  commonly  found.  Accordingly,  when  we  reached 
Fort  Fillmore  we  learned  that  all  the  necessary  arrangements 
had  been  made  for  our  transit  dry-shod  to  the  other  side. 
Where  we  expected  trouble  we  found  entertainment.  The 
mode  of  transportation  was  novel.  The  ferryboat,  commonly 
called  '  a  flat,'  had  been  floated  down  nearly  a  mile  to  a  little 
knoll  upon  the  bank,  a  long  rope  attached,  several  Mexicans 
engaged,  and  when  the  passengers  and  baggage  had  all  been 
transferred  the  word  was  given,  and  the  Mexicans  wading 
along  the  bank  in  water  from  the  ankles  to  the  armpits  pulled 
us  safely  along.  One  extra  hand,  armed  with  an  axe,  ac- 
companied our  team  to  cut  down  bushes  and  trees  when  the 
rope  became  entangled.  The  only  serious  difficulty  was, 
'  How  shall  we  reach  the  other  side  of  the  river  ?  '  This  was 
settled  after  a  long  pull  by  taking  advantage  of  a  bend  in  the 


1859-]  Life  and' Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  399 

river,  where  the  current  favored  our  landing.  The  rope  was 
detached,  and  the  flat  abandoned  to  the  stream.  The  calcu- 
lation was  well  made,  for  we  struck  the  other  bank  within  a 
few  feet  of  the  desired  point.  Here  another  stage  was  in  wait- 
ing, and  we  were  soon  on  our  winding  way.  After  leaving 
the  river  and  ascending  for  half  a  mile,  we  enter  upon  the  far- 
famed  Mesilla  Valley,  and  soon  enter  the  town,  also  called 
Mesilla  (pronounced  Messea.)  All  the  Mexican  villages  are 
alike — adobe-houses,  jakals  (called  hackels),  here  and  there 
without  any  reference  to  form  or  order.  The  streets,  of  course, 
are  not  mathematical  lines,  but  run  at  random  ;  and  dogs, 
goats,  and  cattle  all  roam  at  large.  The  whole  looks  a  great 
deal  more  like  a  caravansary  pitched  for  the  night  than  the 
permanent  habitations  of  a  local  people. 

"  The  valley  is  about  forty  miles  in  length  and  seven  in 
width,  and  is  very  fertile.  Easily  irrigated,  under  intelligent 
culture  it  would  sustain  an  immense  population.  The  thrift- 
less, lazy  Mexican,  content  with  his  red-pepper,  beans,  and 
onions,  and  a  little  corn,  will  never  develop  the  capacity  of 
the  soil. 

"  Without  the  Mesilla  Valley,  Arizona  is  a*deserted  land, 
a  land  of  rocks  and  sand,  without  water  or  timber,  dreary, 
desolate,  a  solitude  without  a  single  attraction,  uninhabited 
and  uninhabitable.  To  talk  of  it  as  an  agricultural  country 
is  ridiculous,  absurd.  Nor  is  it  much  better  as  a  pastoral  re- 
gion. Except  about  the  little  villages  on  the  way,  the  trav- 
eller sees  no  signs  of  animal  life.  The  curse  of  Heaven  seems 
to  rest  upon  it.  The  terrible  denunciations  upon  Israel  and 
Judea,  as  uttered  by  the  prophets,  perpetually  occurred  to 
me.  I  felt  as  though  I  were  journeying  through  a  graveyard, 
the  tombs  of  an  extinct  people.  The  loneliness  is  oppressive. 
If  perchance  any  living  thing  greets  the  eye,  it  is  sure  to  be 
in  motion,  as  though  in  a  hurry  to  get  away.  The  mountains, 
many  of  them,  are  as  bold  and  bare  as  the  mossless  rock.  It 
is  true  that  occasionally  we  saw  a  valley  with  soil  enough  to 
produce  if  water  could  be  had,  but  there  seems  to  be  neither 
cloud  above  nor  springs  beneath.     To  condense  and  to  ex- 


400  Life  mid  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.       [Chap.  xiv. 

press  all  in  three  words,  I  add,  drought,  sterility,  empti- 
ness. 

"  Mesilla,  Tucson,  Tubac,  are  the  three  towns  of  the  ter- 
ritory. Except  the  first,  all  are  dependent  mainly  on  impor- 
tation for  bread.  Tubac  is  in  the  mining  regions,  and  has,  I 
learn,  a  considerable  population,  and  her  supplies  come  chiefly 
from  Sonora.  Before  reaching  Tucson,  some  three  hundred 
miles  from  Mesilla,  I  lost  my  hat  by  nodding.  On  our  ar- 
rival next  day  about  noon,  I  stepped  into  a  store  to  purchase 
a  head-covering  of  some  kind.  I  found  several  Indians  trad- 
ing with  the  merchants  ;  among  them  I  noticed  a  well-clad, 
good-looking  woman,  very  unlike  the  rest.  Pointing  to  her, 
I  asked  the  tradesman  if  she  was  an  Apache.  He  replied, 
yes.  She  seemed  quite  offended,  and,  turning  to  me,  she 
Said,  '  No,  no  Apache,  me  Christian  Indian.'  I  tried  to  talk 
with  her,  but  her  store  of  English  seemed  to  be  exhausted. 
I  suppose  she  was  a  Catholic.  The  old  Santa  Cruz  Mission 
i-  not  far  distant  from  this  place.  That  mission  I  think  is  now 
.  and  Protestantism  1ms  done  nothing  for  these 
outcast  tribes.  Perhaps  the  time  to  occupy  this  forlorn  re- 
gion has  not-yet  come.  The  Methodist  Church,  North,  has 
sent  out  two  missionaries  to  Arizona,  but  they  have  accom- 
plished nothing.  One  of  them  has  accepted  the  chaplaincy 
of  Fort  Fillmore  ;  the  other,  I  believe,  has  gone  to  Los  An- 
geles, and  is  a  member  of  the  California  Conference. 

••  If  the  Overland  Mail  line  is  continued  and  is  made  daily, 
a-  it  ought  to  be,  or  if  the  Pacific  Railroad  is  built,  Arizona 
will  present  in  a  few  years  some  points  of  interest  for  our 
>n  iry  Society.  Gold,  silver,  and  copper,  doubtless, 
abound  in  the  mountains,  and  when  the  means  of  transporta- 
tion are  provided,  so  that  food  can  be  imported  at  living 
rates,  many  of  these  silent  vales  will  hum  with  life  and  labor. 
American  enterprise  and  the  lust  of  gold  will  overcome  all 
difficulties,  and  people  some  spots  of  this  waste  wilderness. 
It  is  too  poor  and  solitary  to  '  howl.' 

"  At  the  stations  where  we  change  horses  wells  have  been 
dug,  and  in  most   places  water  is  easily  obtained.      It  is  all 


1859.]  iife  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  401 

brackish  and  very  unpalatable.  At  one  point  I  saw  them 
digging  for  water.  They  had  gone  down  one  hundred  and 
ninety-six  feet  without  a  sign.  The  dirt  at  the  bottom  was 
wellnigh  as  dry  as  the  surface.  When  we  returned  in  the 
fall,  the  work  was  abandoned.  In  New  Mexico  the  Govern- 
ment has  experimented  with  an  artesian  well,  and  failed. 
Yet  in  some  places  water  is  found  in  fifteen  feet.  The  Over- 
land Stage  Company,  by  their  stations,  wells,  and  employes, 
have  improved  the  route  for  emigrants.  Water  can  be  had 
for  man  and  beast  now,  at  points  less  distant  from  each  other 
than  in  other  days.  There  is  less  danger  from  Indians  and 
Mexicans,  and  the  dreariness  is  relieved  now  and  then  by  the 
sight  of  a  white  man's  face  and  the  familiar  sound  of  one's 
mother  tongue.  For  myself,  however,  I  never  could  muster 
the  patience  to  cross  the  plains  in  an  ox-wagon,  as  many  do, 
consuming  six  and  nine  months  in  the  transit. 

"  It  would  be  a  dull,  monotonous  task  to  describe  in 
detail  the  route  to  California.  The  points  of  interest  are  (e\v 
and  far  between.  If  anyone,  familiar  with  the  local  history 
of  the  country  had  been  with  us,  we  might  have  learned 
much  of  adventures — Indian  skirmishes  and  the  troubles  of 
emigrants — but  our  drivers  seemed  strangely  ignorant  of 
everything  we  wished  to  know.  To  make  time  and  get  their 
wages  was  their  sole  concern. 

"  While  there  is  much  to  admire  in  the  scenery,  to  de- 
scribe it  is  impossible.  I  might  write  of  mountains,  high  and 
low,  of  fantastic  forms,  awful  cliffs,  yawning  precipices,  of 
valleys,  canons,  gorges,  rolling  prairies,  river-bottoms  and 
deserts  dreary,  and  yet  the  image  I  might  conjure  up  would 
bear  no  resemblance  to  these  wild,  desolate,  unique,  pictu- 
resque regions.      My  account  must  be  very  general. 

"  After  leaving  El  Paso,  for  twelve  hundred  miles  the 
fare  is  scanty.  I  never  fasted  so  much,  nor  so  long.  The 
only  chance  for  a  meal  was  at  the  station,  where  we  changed 
horses.  In  these  stables  the  hostler  lives.  Here  he  sleeps, 
cooks,  and  eats.  His  provision  consists  of  coffee  (so  called), 
or  tea,  peaches  dried  with  the  skin  on  them,  and  Mexican 
26 


402  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.       [Cuap.  xiv. 

beans.  The  last  seemed  to  be  the  staple  food  of  the  country. 
The  mode  of  preparation  is  as  follows  :  In  the  morning  they 
are  boiled,  and  the  liquid  is  called  soup;  at  noon  the  mess  is 
warmed  over,  and  with  soup  some  beans  are  taken  ;  at  night, 
the  remaining  beans  arc  fried,  and  the  dish  is  dubbed  fnjoles 
(pronounced  freeholes).  I  wish  to  speak  respectfully  of  the 
Mexican  beans,  for  they  saved  us  from  starvation.  (I  brought 
some  of  them  to  Georgia  ;  the}-  arc  planted  and  doing  well.) 
The  great  difficulty  in  eating  heartily  was  the  foreign  ingre- 
dients in  the  form  of  Jlies.  Since  the  days  of  Moses  and 
Pharaoh,  no  such  swarms  have  been  seen  as  do  congregate 
in  Arizona.  They  are  not  good  for  food,  either  boiled  or 
fried — as  an  ingredient  for  soup  they  are  abominable.  But 
when  a  man  has  fasted  three  days  and  nights,  as  I  did,  if  he 
shuts  his  eyes  the  beans  taste  very  well. 

11  The  overland  mail  is  a  great  enterprise,  and,  I  am  glad 
to  add,  a  perfect  success.  The  expenses  of  the  line  must  be 
enormous.     The  the  horses  (of  which  there  axe  about 

l,20Oi,  the  drivers  at  high  wage-,  the  stations  with  men  to 
keep    them,   the   provision   for   men,   and    the  provender  I  hay 

and  barky  i  f. >r  horses,  all  which  must  be  imported,  consti- 
tute a  heavy  tax  upon  the  company.  The  six  hundred  thou- 
sand paid  them  by  the  government  must  be  wellnigh  absorbed 
by  the  expen 

"  Idie  stations  are  arranged  at  distances  varying  from 
fourteen  to  twenty  miles.  Water-privileges  regulate  this 
matter  pretty  much.  The  wells  which  have  been  dug  are  a 
lief  to  the  government  and  emigrant  trains.  Neverthe- 
less, such  arc  the  irregularities  of  distance,  and  such  the  quality 
of  the  water  in  many  places,  that  passengers  usually  furnish 
themselves  with  canteens,  so  as  to  have  a  tolerable  article,  if 
possible,  always  on  hand.  In  hot  weather,  in  spite  of  all  pre- 
cautions, the  traveller  sometimes  suffers  with  thirst.  The 
temperance  societies  might  learn  the  liquor-lovers  they  are 
trying  to  reform  a  new  lesson  on  the  value  of  water,  by  send- 
ing them  overland  to  the  Pacific. 

"The  horses  and  mules  which  are  employed  on  this  route 


1859.]  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  403 

deserve  a  passing  notice.  The  last  are  of  the  small  Spanish 
stock,  nimble,  quick,  and  enduring.  Their  speed,  in  view  of 
their  size  and  the  burden  they  draw,  is  astonishing.  I  have 
known  them  to  accomplish  fourteen  miles  in  an  hour,  without 
panting,  or  any  apparent  distress.  The  horses  are  brought 
from  California,  and,  bating  some  bad  qualities,  are  a  very 
superior  race.  They  are  strong,  fast,  and  hardy,  but  cannot 
be  'broken,'  as  the  phrase  is.  We  had  a  frolic  every  time  we 
changed.  In  both  horses  and  mules  the  old  Spanish  blood, 
originally  bad,  seems  to  have  taken  on  other  vicious  qualities 
in  the  wild  freedom  of  the  plains,  through  many  generations, 
and  now  perseveringly  resists  subjection  to  the  service  of 
man.  In  every  team  two  or  four  men  are  necessary  to  hitch 
the  leaders.  When  the  driver,  who  is  always  mounted  before- 
hand, cries,  '  Let  them  go,'  such  rearing  and  pitching  the 
Eastern  traveller  never  saw  before.  Within  a  mile  they  grow 
quiet,  and  make  their  run  without  further  ado.  Yet  the 
next  time  they  must  be  broken  in  again.  The  average 
speed  for  the  whole  distance  is  seven  miles  per  hour.  From 
ten  to  fourteen  is  frequent. 

"  One  morning,  about  sunrise,  we  reached  the  Pimos  vil- 
lages. Here  lives  a  tribe  of  Indians,  harmless,  inoffensive, 
and  entitled  to  the  notice  of  the  Church.  They  might  be 
Christianized.  Already,  either  from  the  necessities  of  their 
location  or  from  occasional  contact  with  the  white  man,  while 
retaining  much  characteristic  of  their  race,  they  are  both  an 
agricultural  and  pastoral  people.  They  have  their  herds  of 
horses  and  cattle,  and  their  fields  of  grain.  The  most  of  their 
habitations  are  curious  structures.  They  resemble  an  inverted 
pot.  Small  poles  are  procured  and  bent,  each  end  stuck  in 
the  earth  and  then  wattled  with  small  twigs,  and  then  thatched 
with  grass.  A  hole,  large  enough  to  admit  a  man's  body,  is 
left  on  one  side.  The  whole  fabric  is  about  four  feet  high, 
and  its  diameter  about  five.  No  adult  could  stretch  himself 
in  one  of  them,  and  he  must  make  a  crescent  of  his  body  and 
limbs  to  get  all  in.  The  village  is  dignified  with  one  or  two 
log-cabins. 


404  Life  and  Times,  of  George  F.  Pierre.        [Chat,  xiv 

"  On  reaching  the  Maricopa  Wells,  beyond  this  little 
Indian  town,  we  stopped  to  change  our  team,  and  the  driver, 
pointing  to  a  little  shanty,  announced  that  we  could  get  some- 
thing to  eat  up  there  if  we  wished.  We  were  all  hungry  and 
made  haste  to  reach  the  brcakfast-housc.  A  table  not  much 
larger  than  the  crown  of  my  hat  was  set  out,  and  on  it  were  an 
old  tin  pot  filled  with  flies  and  stewed peaches,  a  clish  of  beans 
and  flics,  and  a  loaf  of  bread  old  enough  to  be  musty,  but 
too  dry  to  mould.  On  inspection,  my  appetite  declined  the 
refreshments,  my  wife  followed  my  example,  and  we  con- 
cluded wc  could  fa>t  two  days  longer.  The  little  girl,  how- 
ever, was  very  hungry,  and  must  have  something.  I  cut  a 
1  slice  from  the  loaf  and  said  to  '  mine  host,'  'What  do 
you  charge  for  this  bit  of  bread  ?  '  '  Well,  I  guess  a  dollar  is 
■it  far.'  Disputing  his  judgment  and  giving  him  some 
good  advice,  I  paid  him  and  left. 

"  Now  wc  enter  upon  the  Gil  i  Desert  and  the  valley  of  the 
Gila  River.  There  arc  two  deserts,  the  Gila  (pronounced 
tfela)  and  the  Colorado;  the  first,  forty-five  miles  wide,  and 
the  other,  one  hundred  and  ten.  By  what  rule  these  calcula- 
tions of  distance  are  made  I  cannot  tell.  No  man  can  say 
re  cither  begins  or  cnd>.  From  Mestlla  Valley  to  El 
M  nte  in  California  I  should  call  it  all  desert — a  distance  of 
I  miles.  It  is  true  there  arc  here  and  there 
little  strips  of  good  land,  a  few  trees,  and  some  vegetation. 
But  if  a  country  without  timber  or  grass  or  streams,  with 
wide-spread  beds  of  rock,  alternated  with  sand  and  dust  re- 
duced to  powder,  aland  withered,  barren,  dead  ;  if  such  a 
land  be  a  desert,  then  talk  not  of  the  Little  Gila  and  the  Great 
Colorado  Desert,  but  say  the  Desert  of  Arizona  and  be  done 
with  it.  All  along  here  are  to  be  seen  the  cacti  in  endless 
variety.  They  were  generally  in  bloom,  and  many  of  them 
beautiful.  Bear  grass,  the  Spanish  bayonet,  the  cactus,  the 
broad-leaved,  the  spiral,  the  pillared,  some  of  them  of  im- 
mense size,  constitute  the  prevailing  growth — and  the  apple, 
as  it  is  called,  which  grows  on  one  species,  and  the  bulbous 
root  of  another,  are  the  staple  food  of  the  half-starved  Indians. 


i859-]  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  405 

The  Indians  also  manufacture  from  these  roots  a  pungent, 
highly  intoxicating  liquid,  of  which  they  are  said  to  be  very 
fond. 

"  From  the  Pimos  villages  to  Fort  Yuma  on  the  Colorado 
the  distance  is  about  two  hundred  miles,  and  is  the  most 
dreaded  of  all  the  route.  Hot,  dry,  dusty — intensify  these 
adjectives  beyond  anything  known  in  the  East,  and  a  toler- 
able idea  may  be  obtained  of  the  discomforts  of  this  region. 
The  fierce  winds,  which  blow  almost  a  gale,  the  glaring  sun- 
shine, and  the  floating  clouds  of  dust  have  a  very  unpleasant 
effect  upon  the  eyes  and  the  skin.  Not  to  wash,  leaving  the 
dust  to  form  a  crust  upon  the  face,  is  the  best  protection  for 
the  skin.  For  the  eyes  there  is  no  remedy  but  time  and 
another  country.  I  had  been  forewarned  on  this  point,  and 
my  face  was  a  stranger  to  water  for  two  weeks.  Some  of  the 
passengers  were  too  tidy  to  bear  the  preventive.  They  washed 
and  suffered.  Hydropathy  will  not  do  in  Arizona.  '  Clean- 
liness may  be  next  to  godliness,'  but  while  travelling  I  prefer 
dust  to  blisters. 

"  Gila  City  consists  of  a  stable  for  stage-horses  and  one 
upright  pole-cabin.  Its  prospects  for  enlargement  are  not 
promising.  Just  after  we  passed,  a  singular  accident  occurred 
at  this  place.  The  horses,  a  team  of  six,  on  being  hitched, 
commenced  their  usual  manoeuvres,  and  plunged  wildly  and 
madly  about,  the  leaders  fell  into  an  open  well — the  next  two 
soon  followed,  and  the  wheel-horses  were  saved  by  the  cross- 
bar which  hung  across  the  mouth.  The  poor  brutes  screamed 
in  their  terror  and  agony — to  extricate  them  was  impossible, 
and  the  only  remedy  was  to  shoot  them,  or  leave  them  to  die 
in  lingering  tortures.     They  were  shot. 

"  About  midnight  we  crossed  the  Colorado  of  the  West. 
The  river  was  fearfully  swollen  by  the  melting  snows,  and  on 
the  following  day  gave  us  no  little  trouble  by  its  overflow. 
On  one  side  is  the  city  of  Arizona,  and  on  the  opposite  side 
Fort  Yuma.  Occasionally  a  steamboat  reaches  this  point, 
but  neither  agriculture  nor  commerce  will  ever  build  a  town, 
much  less  a  city,  in  this  region.     It  may,  perchance,  be  a 


40G  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.       [Oha*.  xiv 

way-station  on  the  line  of  the  Great  Pacific  Railroad.  After 
a  dark  ride  of  several  hours  we  reached  Pilot  Knob,  a  rocky 
elevation  on  the  bank  of  the  river.  Here  we  were  to  break- 
fast and  to  make  preparations  for  crossing  the  Great  Desert. 
As  we  were  to  be  detained  an  hour  or  two,  to  relieve  my 
cramped  limbs  I  prospected  around,  and  finally  found  myself 
in  the  camp  of  the  Yumas.  It  was  about  sunrise  —  the  women 
were  all  up  and  diligently  employed  in  pounding  and  rolling 
into  a  sort  of  flour  the  Mczquit  bean.  Large  baskets  filled 
with  this  bean  and  other  pods  and  berries  were  thick  around 
them,  and  out  of  these  wild  products  these  poor  outcasts 
make  their  bread.  The  men  were  lying  about  —  many  of 
them  fast  asleep — others  just  waking  up,  stretching  and 
yawning  lazily.  Neither  party  paid  the  slightest  attention  to 
me.  All  were  nearly  naked,  save  that  a  few  of  the  men  had, 
by  hook  or  crook,  picked  up  the  cast-off  garments  of  the  sol- 
dier or  of  the  !  •  migrant.  The  dress  of  the  women 
Consisted   of  some  kind  of  bark   split   into   ribbons,  and   tied 

around  the  loins.  The  article  was  a  strange  combination  of 
the  bustle  and  the  hoop.  Whether  the  arrangement  was 
traditional — coming  down  from  the  (.lays  of  the  fig-leaf  apron 
— or  imitative,  the  mark  of  a  progressive  Indian  civilization, 
i->  a  question  1  shall  leave  for  the  ethnoloj  settle.     One 

thing  ought  to  be  mentioned  to  the  credit  of  these  wild  West- 
ern ladies  :  they  seem  to  be  cleanly.  One  by  one,  or  two  at  a 
time,  they  resorted  to  the  river  for  their  morning  ablutions. 
They  swam  ver.  ly  into  the   rushing  current  and  fro- 

licked joyously  in  the  water.  Unbinding  their  long  black- 
hair,  they  gave  their  heads  a  thorough  scouring.  The  whole 
operation  was  performed  with  as  much  delicacy,  as  little  ex- 
posure of  the  person,  as  in  the  same  enjoyment  by  their  pale- 
faced  sisters  at  Newport  or  Cape  Maw 

"  But  we  must  cross  the  Desert.  The  spreading  river 
drove  us  several  miles  out  of  our  way.  With  six  fine  horses 
we  were  soon  in  motion.  The  valley  of  the  Colorado  was 
once  wide,  and  what  remains  is  very  fertile— yet,  alas  !  a  mere 
wilderness  of  weeds  and  bushes.     The  tiller's  hand  has  never 


1859.]  Life  ami  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  407 

stirred  its  virgin  soil.  In  a  few  years  more  the  whole  bottom 
will  be  covered  many  feet  deep  by  the  encroaching  sands  of 
the  desert.  Within  a  mile  or  two  we  reached  the  sand-bank, 
which  marks  the  beginning  of  the  wide,  wide  desolation.  The 
sand  is  very  fine,  soft  and  loose,  and  the  grade  in  going  up 
very  steep.  The  driver,  aware  of  the  difficulties  ahead  of 
him,  on  starting  engaged  a  team  of  six  fine  mules  to  assist  in 
drawing  the  stage  up  this  ascent.  Unloosing  his  leaders — a 
balky  set — and  attaching  the  mules  the  stage  was  emptied  of 
everyone  save  Mrs.  Pierce  and  the  little  girl,  and  an  effort 
was  made  to  go  up.  It  was  "  no  go.'  The  strength  of  four 
horses  and  six  mules  did  not  avail  to  turn  a  wheel.  Trial 
after  trial  was  made,  and  it  verily  seemed  as  if  we  were  lo- 
cated. The  fretted  beasts  would  sink  to  their  knees  in  every 
effort  to  pull.  Finally  Ave  sent  back  to  an  encampment  of 
wagons  and  procured  another  long  chain,  led  the  mules  to 
the  top  of  the  hill,  where  they  could  get  some  foothold, 
and,  having  made  all  ready,  amid  the  cracking  of  whips  and 
the  shouts  of  the  drivers  and  helpers,  the  stage  began  to 
move.  The  summit  was  gained  and  we  all  rejoiced.  Oh,  the 
dreariness  of  the  scene  around  !  Sand,  sand,  sand.  Several 
of  us,  at  the  driver's  request,  undertook  to  walk  half  a  mile  or 
more.  The  time  was  verging  fast  upon  noon,  the  sky  without 
a  cloud,  the  sun  fearfully  hot,  shining  in  full  strength.  Sink- 
ing at  every  step  to  the  ankles  in  the  yielding  sand,  withal 
having  been  on  very  low  diet  for  about  fifteen  days,  I  fairly 
gave  out.  I  thought  of  Jonah's  gourd,  and  longed  for  its 
shade.  I  thought  of  the  spring  at  Sunshine,  and  pined  and 
panted  for  one  refreshing  draught.  But  neither  gourd  nor 
spring  could  I  find  in  this  lone  wild.  My  body  was  a  foun- 
tain of  water,  but  the  gushing  streams  exhausted  rather  than 
relieved.  My  tongue  cleaved  to  the  roof  of  my  mouth.  I 
was  ready  to  faint  and  lay  down  on  the  hot  sand  to  rest  my 
failing  limbs.  I  sympathized  with  the  poor  soldier  who  a  few 
days  before  got  lost  on  this  arid  plain,  and  in  the  anguish  of 
his  thirst  slew  his  dog  and  drank  the  blood.  By  and  by  the 
stage  came  up  ;  I  called  for  the  canteen,  and  the  miserable 


408  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.        [Chap.  xiv. 

water  was  an  elixir  of  delight.  Bless  God  for  water  !  This 
trip  has  made  me  more  grateful  for  this  life -sustaining,  heart- 
cheering  element  than  I  ever  was  before,  nay,  than  I  ever 
could  have  been.  I  never  drink  the  cool,  sparkling  beverage 
without  a  conscious  uplifting  of  spirit  to  the  '  Father  of  lights, 
from  whom  comethdown  every  good  and  perfect  gift.' 

"The  Desert  is  a  treeless,  herbless,  grassless,  lifeless 
waste.  The  heat  would  be  intolerable,  but  for  the  winds 
which  sweep  restlessly  over  its  bosom.  Sometimes  these 
winds  swell  to  a  gale,  and  there  is  what  is  called  a  storm  of 
sand.  The  air  is  dark,  the  road  obliterated.  Neither  man 
nor  beast  can  face  the  tempest  To  stop  and  turn  your  back 
is  the  best  one  can  do.  To  persevere  is  to  lose  your  eyes, 
or  be  suffocated,  "r  be  lost.      Providence   spared  us  this  trial. 

"  We  arc  now  in  California,  but  still  the  soil  is  poor,  tim- 
ber small  and  scarce,  and  the  only  material  change  in  the 
scene  is,  at  long  intervals,  a  human  habitation.  To  Los 
Angeles  from  Fort  Yuma  is  about  two  hundred  miles.  On 
the  route  arc  some  valuable  ranches — immense  herds  of  cattle, 
heep,  ami  goats  arc  to  be  seen  now  and  then.  If  a 
man  were  emigrating  from  any  other  State  and  were  not  well 

ted  at  the  outset,  on  entering  this  great  Pacific  State 
from  the  East,  his  courage  would  fail  him,  and,  like  the 
hunted  hare,  he  would  take  the  back  track  and  carry  to  his 
old  home  an  evil  report  of  the  modern  Ophir.  Put  we  are  in 
for  it,  let  us  go  on.  '  It  is  bad  luck  to  turn  back,'  so  saith 
the  old  saw.  Well,  here  is  San  Felipe,  an  Indian  town,  a 
bold  spring,  several  huts,  cabins,  and  human  beings  of  vari- 
ous colors.  And  lo  !  yonder  is  some  green  grass,  let  your 
eyes  regale  themselves  while  the  horses  are  changed.  The 
desert  is  past,  the  wilderness  and  the  solitary  place  are  be- 
hind, before  us  are  food,  water,  safety  from  Indians,  fields, 
gardens,  vineyards.  Presently  we  met  hundreds  of  Indians  in 
costume,  many  of  them  well-dressed,  some  on  foot,  many 
on  horseback,  single  and  double,  sometimes  a  woman  in  the 
-addle  and  a  man  behind,  and  vice  versa.  All,  equestrians 
and  pedestrians,  seemed  to  be  merry,  eager,  full  of  haste. 


1859-]  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  409 

'  What  does  all  this  mean  ?  '  said  I  to  the  conductor.  He  re- 
plied, '  Do  you  remember  that  house  at  the  spring  a  few 
miles  back  ?  '  '  Yes  !  '  I  answered.  '  Well,'  said  he,  '  that  is 
a  favorite  resort  of  these  Indians.  They  meet  to  drink  and 
gamble.  They  will  remain  as  long  as  they  have  anything  to 
bet  or  lose.' 

"  The  next  place  in  order  is  a  little  Indian  village  called 
Temacula.  (I  will  not  be  responsible  for  the  orthography  of 
that  name.)  The  inhabitants  are  a  mere  remnant  of  a  tribe, 
and  are  in  process  of  rapid  extinction.  They  breathe,  but 
do  not  live,  and  soon  the  last  one  will  have  passed  away. 
The  vices  of  the  white,  grafted  upon  the  thriftless  habits  of 
the  red  man,  hasten  the  doom  of  the  race. 

"  Before  we  reach  El  Monte,  the  country  is  strangely  di- 
versified. Much  of  it  is  exceedingly  poor  and  yet  occasion- 
ally a  fine  farm  greets  the  eye — fields  of  grain,  gardens  and 
vineyards  and  orchards. 

**  El  Monte  is  a  small  but  rather  flourishing  town,  and 
near  by  is  one  of  the  old  Catholic  missions.  It  is  a  very 
striking  fact,  that  in  every  instance  the  location  of  these  mis- 
sions evince  the  knowledge,  taste,  and  forecast  of  the  old  Span- 
ish padres.  Wherever  you  find  one,  there  are  wood,  water, 
soil,  picturesque  scenery,  the  best  of  everything  the  land  af- 
fords. This  is  too  uniform  to  have  been  accidental,  and  must 
have  been  the  result  of  thorough  exploration.  But  how  did 
these  foreign  missionaries  explore  these  wild  regions  in  the 
midst  of  ignorant  savages  tribes  ?  How  ?  I  will  not  answer. 
But  what  zeal  ?  what  self-denial  ?  what  intrepidity  ?  Let 
Protestantism  ponder  the  example.  Shall  a  corrupted  Chris- 
tianity outvie  a  purer,  more  spiritual  system  ?  Here  are  old, 
well-constructed  houses,  which  have  survived  the  race  for 
whose  benefit  they  were  erected.  Catholic  priests  came, 
toiled,  suffered,  died,  and  left  these  now  decaying  monuments 
of  their  heroism.  They  came,  too,  to  baptize  a  degraded  peo- 
ple, dwelling  in  an  unknown  land  ;  and  now — with  an  Anglo- 
American  population,  with  cities,  towns,  farms,  steamships, 
railroads,  and  telegraphs,  out  of  2,494  travelling  preachers 


410  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.       [Chap.  XIV. 

and  5,117  local  preachers,  all  sons  of  Wesley — I  cannot  get 
ten  to  go  to  California  to  preach  the  everlasting  Gospel!  !  ! 

"  In  this  portion  of  California  many  things  attract  the 
traveller's  eye.  Long  accustomed  to  solitude  and  desolation, 
the  signs  of  life  and  being  make  one  feel  as  if  he  had  at  last 
compassed  the  globe  or  jumped  the  long  long,  blank  in  his- 
tory, and  was  once  more  on  the  confines  of  the  world  of  ac- 
tion. Here  is  the  little  town  of  El  Monte  to  begin  with,  a 
hotel  where  you  may  get  dinner  and  pay  for  it,  a  lady  to  pre- 
side at  the  table,  to  talk  and  ask  questions,  and  when  you  go 
out  there  are  boys  and  men   to  look  at   the   horses,    and    to 

re  at  you,  and  wonder  who  you  are  and  where  you  are 
goinLC.  But  we  must  leave.  Sec  the  fields  enclosed,  some 
with  post  and  plank,  some  with  willow  hedges,  and  some 
with  the  broad-leaved  cactus.  Yonder  on  the  left  is  the 
Catholic  mission,  embosomed  in  trees,  a  place  of  beauty,  'tis 
said.  And  now  look  over  the  plains  -what  mean  those  little 
holes  and  piles  of  earth?  Is  this  another  dog-town?  Nay, 
the  noise  of  our  wheels  resolves  the  mystery.  Why,  the 
squirrels  have  come  down  from  the  leafy  tree-tops  and  have 
burrowed  the  earth  for  holes.  Even  so.  California  abounds 
with  this  species  of  squirrel,  if  indeed  it  be  a  distinct  species. 
In  some  places  they  cover  the  land,  and  with  their  perfora- 
tions have  riddled  the  surface  of  the  earth.  The  owl,  too, 
dwells  with  them  as  with  the  prairie-dog.  The  squirrel  is 
gray,  like  the  common  cat  squirrel  of  the  East,  perhaps  a 
shade  darker,  the  same  in  form,  motion,  '  caudal  appendage,' 
and  general  habits.  They  are  a  pest  to  the  country.  In 
spite  of  guns  ami  poisons  they  multiply  fearfully.  Their 
fecundity  is  said  to  be  wonderful.  I  saw  thousands  upon 
thousands  and  all  were  in  fine  plight — fat,  sleek,  and  playful. 
In  dry,  dusty  plains,  or  near  some  farmer's  wheat-field,  they 
all  seem  to  be  in  like  condition. 

"  Now  we  come  upon  a  scene  of  enchantment — Los 
Angeles.  Contrast  lent  its  aid,  doubtless,  but  this  is  really  a 
charming  town.  The  beautiful  stream  which  meanders  by  it, 
furnishing  irrigation  to  the  vineyards  and  gardens,  the  taste- 


i859-3  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  411 

ful  residences,  the  hedges  of  willow,  the  life  and  stir  and 
obvious  thrift  of  the  place,  all  conspire  to  invest  it  with  in- 
terest. To  us  it  was  like  a  magical  creation.  Aladdin's 
lamp  could  hardly  have  conjured  up  a  brighter,  more  unex- 
pected scene.  I  cannot  give  its  history.  It  is  an  old  place, 
revised,  enlarged,  modernized.  Spain  has  left  her  footprints, 
but  young  America  will  soon  have  left  no  vestige  of  her  pres- 
ence except  the  grape-vine.  This  will  be  spared  for  its  own 
sake.  Here  is  the  Eshcol  of  America.  Such  grapes  !  Such 
clusters  !  Such  flavor !  I  can  taste  them  yet,  and  hope  to 
feast  on  them  in  time  to  come.  As  we  returned  in  October 
they  were  in  full  perfection,  and  being  compelled  to  lie  over 
three  days,  we  feasted.  One  delightful  quality  of  the  grape 
is,  that  they  may  be  eaten  to  repletion  with  impunity.  They 
are  good,  morning,  noon,  and  night. 

"While  the  driver  was  changing  horses,  I  strolled  about 
the  main  street,  and  finally  stepped  into  a  barber's  shop.  A 
large  mirror  hung  upon  the  wall,  and  I  concluded  to  take  a 
survey  of  myself.  Reflected  in  the  glass  I  saw  a  man  with  a 
slouched  hat  innocent  of  shape,  a  shirt  covered  with  the  dust 
of  long  travel,  too  deeply  dyed  ever  to  be  whitened  again,  a 
gray  flannel  frock,  as  uncanonical  a  coat  as  could  be,  a  face  — 
O  horror  !  what  a  beard  !  I  looked,  and  yielded.  '  Can 
you  shave  me  in  five  minutes  ?  '  •  Yes,  sir,'  said  the  man  of 
the  razor.  When  I  resumed  my  seat  in  the  stage,  '  What,' 
said  a  passenger,  '  have  you  been  doing  ?  You  do  not  look 
like  the  same  man.'  After  a  long  inspection  he  made  out  the 
cause.  '  Beard  or  no  beard  '  is  hardly  a  moral  question. 
At  least  my  conscience  is  not  involved.  I  am  not '  offended  ' 
with  my  brethren  who  have  abandoned  the  razor,  but  a  hairy 
chin  is  not  for  me.  To  look  like  a  preacher,  I  must  shave.  I 
hope  never  to  see  that  face  again  that  peered  out  upon  me 
from  the  barber's  looking-glass  in  Los  Angeles. 

"  It  was  late  in  the  evening  when  we  left,  and  as  we  ap- 
proached the  mountains  the  air  grew  unpleasantly  cold. 
Blankets  were  in  demand.  The  night  was  chilly  enough  for 
December.     About  midnight  we  crossed  the  mountains,  a 


412  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.        [Chap.  xiv. 

slow,  laborious  ascent,  and  the  descent  is  made  with  difficulty. 
The  road  has  been  cut  through  the  rock — a  heavy,  expensive 
job.  The  scenery  by  moonlight  is  wild,  grand,  awful.  At 
sunrise,  almost  frozen,  we  draw  up  at  a  wayside  tavern  for 
breakfast.  The  shanty  occupied  the  only  spot  on  which  a 
house  could  stand.  Located  in  a  mountain-gorge,  '  mine 
host '  contrives,  by  hook  and  by  crook,  to  provide  for  travel- 
lers. A  wilder  region  it  would  be  hard  to  imagine.  Yet 
here,  of  choice,  an  intelligent  man  with  an  interesting  family 
has  settled.  His  nearest  neighbor  is  twenty  miles  distant, 
and  while  I  remonstrated  with  him  on  account  of  his  children, 
he  cut  me  short  by  declaring  that  he  had  wandered  long 
to  find  that  place,  and  as  to  education  for  his  children,  they 
needed  only  what  they  could  pick  up,  and  would  doubtless 
make  their  way  in  the  world  without  books.  Our  debate 
was  earnest,  and  we  quit  as  controversialists  usually  do,  each 
confirmed  in  his  own  opinion.  At  long  intervals  we  found 
some  of  the  original  inhabitants  of  the  country,  commonly 
calied  '  greasers.' 

"  In  this  region  nature  seems  to  struggle  with  herself  ;  ex- 
tremes meet,  alternations  of  valley  and  mountain,  rich  and 
poor  land,  dry,  sterile  wastes,  and  then  bright  sparkling 
streams  with  verdant  banks.      Behind,  all  sterility  ;  just  here, 

treak  of  fat  and  a  streak  of  lean  ;  '  ahead,  all  rich,  beauti- 
ful, and  attractive.  Fort  Tejon  is  one  hundred  and  thirty 
miles  from  Los  Angeles,  and  seems  to  me  to  be  one  of  the 
many  expletive  military  posts  which  burden  the  government. 
For  beauty  and  grandeur  of  location  it  is  well  chosen.  On 
leaving,  the  road,  for  three  miles,  runs  down  a  canon  of  awful 
sublimity.  The  towering  mountains  on  cither  side,  the  little 
stream  which  murmurs  along  its  serpentine  path,  the  deep 
stillness  which  broods  over  the  scene,  invest  the  place  with  a 
sort  of  sacrcdness  favorable  to  religious  emotion.  A  recluse 
could  hardly  find  a  more  appropriate  retreat  from  noise  and 
show.  It  is  solitude  solemnized.  On  emerging  from  this 
deep,  dark  defile,  we  strike  an  open  plain  with  a  down  grade 
for  fourteen  miles,  a  distance  our  ponies  accomplished  in  an 


1859-1  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  413 

hour.  But  it  is  wearisome  to  think  over  this  route,  much 
less  to  describe  it.  Your  readers  could  take  very  little  inter- 
est in  the  details  of  our  journey  along  these  hills  and  plains. 
Suffice  it  to  say,  the  road  is  good,  the  mountains  high,  the 
valleys  rich,  live-oak  common,  settlements  more  frequent, 
an  occasional  stream — one  large  one,  Kearn  River — and  finally 
you  strike  the  Tuba  Valley,  a  region  which  begins  to  attract 
great  attention  in  California. 

"After  breakfast  one  morning  we  resumed  our  journey; 
the  day  was  hot,  oppressively  so,  and  yet,  in  full  view  upon 
our  right  the  snow  lay  heavy  upon  the  Sierra  Nevada  range. 
The  sun  nearly  melted  us  on  the  plain  ;  how  the  snow  re- 
sisted its  burning  beams  is  one  of  the  mysteries  of  altitude. 
It  was  refreshing  to  know  that  it  was  cool  somewhere,  and 
that  if  we  had  time  we  might  reduce  the  temperature  which 
was  dissolving  us.  Presently  we  reach  the  town  of  Visalia,  a 
new  place,  having  a  fresh,  strong,  growing  look.  I  never 
saw  a  busier  people.  It  is  amazing  how  rapidly  villages  can 
grow  on  the  Pacific  Coast.  Nor  are  the  buildings  mere  shan- 
ties, but  substantial  houses,  many  of  them  brick,  two  or  three 
stories  high,  having  quite  a  city  air  about  them.  In  this 
neighborhood  I  first  saw  the  magpie,  the  most  numerous  of 
all  the  birds  in  California.  They  do  not  chatter,  as  I  had  been 
taught  to  expect,  but  seem  quiet  and  sober,  quite  disposed 
to  be  on  good  terms  with  all  the  world. 

"  This  whole  region  is  called  the  Tulare  country.  It  is 
settling  up  with  a  very  clever,  substantial  population.  It  is 
well  watered,  lands  rich,  timber  (live-oak)  abundant  and  bur- 
dened with  acorns.  Large  spaces  are  enclosed,  and  the  mast 
thus  preserved  for  swine.  Hog-raising  is  a  paying  business. 
Wheat  grows  finely,  and  one  peculiarity  is  (I  never  noticed 
it  elsewhere  than  in  California)  that  the  grain  flourishes  just 
as  well  under  the  shade  of  those  immense  oaks  as  in  the  most 
exposed  places.  In  the  East  scarce  anything  will  grow  in 
the  shade  of  a  tree — here  the  stalks  of  wheat  were  as  luxuri- 
ant close  to  the  trunk  of  the  tree  as  beyond  the  circle  of  its 
shade.     This  is  both  an  agricultural  and  a  stock-raising  sec- 


414  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.       [Ohap.  xiv. 

tion.     Game  abounds.     The  antelopes  may  be  seen  in  large 
herds,  and  deer  are  common,  as  I  understood. 

"The  dust  of  the  plains  is  terrible  to  encounter.  We 
hasten  on,  and  soon  we  strike  the  far-famed  San  Jose  Valley. 
It  has  been  often  described.  Gilroy  is  a  nice  little  town  as 
you  enter,  and  soon  San  Jose  itself  breaks  upon  the  vision. 
This  is  one  of  the  loveliest  regions  I  ever  saw.  It  is  posi- 
tively enchanting.  Art  and  taste  are  combining  with  nature 
to  give  new  attractions  to  this  lovely  valley,  and  the  town  is 
destined  to  distinction  for  size  as  well  as  location.  Tired, 
dusty,  and  hungry,  we  stepped  out  of  the  stage  and  made 
our  way  to  a  restaurant,  and  fed  upon  fat  things,  at  seventy- 
five  cents  a  head.  With  a  large  accession  of  passengers  we 
left  at  sunset,  and  in  six  hours  were  rolling  through  the 
streets  of  San  Francisco." 

I  [e  had  travelled  two  thousand  miles  without  rest  and  with 
little  sleep,  and  so  ended  safely  this  remarkable  journey.  As 
one  reads  the  Story  he  i-  almost  selfish  enough  to  be  thank- 
ful that  the  bishop  had  made  this  journey,  and  had  not  fol- 
lowed the  example  of  Bishop  Andrew  and  Hishop  Soule,  and 
gone  by  steamer.  His  noble  wife  was  the  first  woman  who 
had  ever  crossed  the  continent  by  the  overland  stages,  and 
Annie  tells  her  own  story  of  this  remarkable  journey  in  the 
following  chapter  : 

"MEMORIES   OF   MY   TRIP  TO  CALIFORNIA. 

"  In  April  of  the  year  [8$9,  I,  being  the  youngest  child, 
taken  by  my  parents  on  the  long  trip  with  them  to  Cali- 
fornia. Everything,  from  the  moment  I  left  home,  was  full 
of  interest  and  pleasure  for  me.  Trusting  wholly  in  my  par- 
ents, I  had  no  thought  of  anxiety  or  fear  in  the  journey  ahead, 
though  father  told  me  of  the  uninhabited  country  through 
which  we  would  pass,  of  the  Indians,  the  high  mountains, 
deep  precipices,  and  mighty  rivers  ;  all  this  but  made  my  de- 
sire to  go  the  more  intense. 

"  I  don't  recall  anything  of  special  interest  till  we  reached 
Texas.     We  spent  a  week  in  Rusk,  with  father's  youngest 


1859-]  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  415 

sister,  Mrs.  Wiggins,  a  widow  with  two  children,  who,  two 
years  later,  returned  to  Georgia,  making  our  house  her  home. 

"  Near  San  Marcos  we  spent  a  few  days  with  an  old  friend 
of  father's,  General  Pitts.  He  was  a  farmer,  with  a  herd  of 
horses,  which  were  driven  up,  for  our  inspection,  into  an  en- 
closure near  the  house.  Father  took  me  with  him  at  one 
time  to  see,  which  to  me  was  a  wonderful  sight,  a  man  lasso 
and  mount  an  untried  horse.  The  antics  he  cut  and  plunges 
he  made,  with  the  man  on  his  back,  I  can  never  forget. 

"  At  San  Antonio  we  took  the  stage  for  the  '  overland  ' 
route.  Father  was  advised  here  to  take  some  provisions  for 
the  way,  as  a  lack  of  such  as  we  would  wish  might  occur.  It 
was  well  for  us  he  did  so,  as  the  food  prepared  by  the  coach- 
man, or  that  which  we  could  get  at  the  points  where  the 
horses  were  changed,  was  by  no  means  tempting.  The 
ministers  who  were  with  us — among  them  Mr.  John  Simmons, 
now  of  the  South  Georgia  Conference — shared  our  meals  and 
interested  me  in  many  ways  when  I  would  grow  weary  of  the 
ride.  I  would  look  forward  with  eagerness  to  the  change  of 
horses.  On  one  part  of  the  route  they  would  hitch  six  large 
horses,  with  a  man  at  the  head  of  each,  till  the  driver  could 
take  his  seat  and  reins  ;  then,  with  the  order  to  'Let  go,'  they 
would  rear  and  plunge  for  a  mile  or  more  before  they  could 
be  brought  under  control. 

"  This  was  exciting  and  delightful  ;  I  remember  well  how 
I  enjoyed  looking  on  till  at  one  time,  as  six  restless  grays 
were  hitched  to  the  stage,  in  their  efforts  to  free  themselves, 
the  coach  was  upset.  No  one,  fortunately,  was  seriously 
hurt  ;  mother  had  a  finger  painfully  sprained,  but  soon  found 
relief.  At  night,  when  we  would  camp,  father  would  always 
make  mother  comfortable  in  the  coach,  and  then,  after  a 
prayer  with  us,  for  our  safety,  would  take  me  in  his  arms, 
where  I  slept  as  sweetly  as  at  home.  I  have  many  times, 
since  I  became  a  woman,  wished  I  could  feel  the  same  trust 
and  faith  in  my  Heavenly  Father's  love  and  care  of  me  that 
I  felt,  as  a  child,  in  that  of  my  dear  earthly  father. 

"When  danger,  over  the  narrow  passes,  or  fatigue  made 


416  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.        [Chap.  xiv. 

it  necessary  for  us  to  walk,  father,  whose  eye  was  ever  open 
to  nature's  beauties,  would  call  attention  to  a  pretty  spot 
here,  or  a  line  of  hills  yonder,  and  the  tiny  flowers  under 
his  feet  never  escaped  his  view.  A  blooming  prairie  is  among 
the  pleasant  recollections  of  the  many  beauties  along  that  trip. 
Father  waked  me  from  a  nap  on  his  knee  to  look ;  before  us 
was  a  vast  sea  of  blue  and  pink  as  far  as  we  could  see  in 
the  early  morning.  As  we  rode  on,  he  spied  a  prairie-hen, 
and  held  me  up  to  see  it  as  it  made  its  escape  among  the 
flowers. 

"  When  we  reached  the  river,  though  it  was  not  a  very 
wide  or  deep  river,  the  banks  were  so  precipitous  that  the 
stage  could  not,  without  risk,  carry  us  over,  and  the  question 

>  what  should  be  clone  was  a  serious  one.  A  Creole  came 
up  and  proposed  to  land  us  on  the  other  side,  if  we  would 
permit  him. 

'•  lather  and  I  were  carried  over,  and  now,  would  mother 
allow  him  to  take  her  in  his  arms,  as  he  had  done  me  ? 
There  was  no  other  alternative,  and  the  stage  was  waiting  on 
the  opposite  side;  so,  amid  our  amusement  and  some  fear 
he  should  drop  the  precious  burden  in  the  stream,  she 
was  placed  safely  b<  .  and,  with  thanks  to  the  Creole  for 

his  help  in  emergency,  we  went  our  way. 

"  Twenty-two  days  of  travel  brought  us  to  San  Francisco 
in  the  night.  The  next  day  we  were  welcomed  by  Dr.  Fitz- 
gerald and  his  friend  Mr.  Genella.  Both  these  gentlemen  I 
soon  learned  to  love.  Dr.  Fitzgerald's  house  was  our  home, 
and  many  pleasant  days  I  spent  with  his  little  ones  Paul  and 
Genella.  Mother  and  I  remained  in  San  Francisco  while  fa- 
ther visited  the  churches  in  the  country  around.  When  he 
with  us,  and  not  engaged,  he  gave  us  every  opportunity 
of  seeing  the  city  and  the  strange  places  we  could  never  hope 
to  visit  again. 

"Atone  time  he  took  me  to  a  Chinese  temple  to  see 
their  god — a  horrid,  wooden  image  with  crossed  feet,  and 
hands  holding  a  knife  and  fork.  Before  it,  on  a  green-cov- 
ered table,  was  placed  fruit  of  various  kinds. 


0.   P.    FITZGERALD,   D.D. 


1859-1  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  417 

"  One  memorable  visit  was  to  the  beach,  several  miles  from 
the  city.  We  arose  early  ;  father  had  arranged  for  us  to  go 
out  in  a  carriage,  which  was  ready  for  us  before  sunrise.  The 
delightful  air,  the  fruit  we  had,  and  the  beautiful  scenery — 
together  with  the  company  of  some  of  our  San  Francisco 
friends — the  beach,  the  shells,  the  sea-lions,  in  the  distance, 
and  the  great  waves  rolling  at  my  feet,  are,  I  believe,  among 
the  most  pleasant  of  my  recollections. 

"  Father  was  very  unwell  at  this  time  and  the  ride  seemed 
to  have  refreshed  him,  and  I  recall  his  appearance  as  he  stood 
looking  thoughtfully  across  the  water,  now  and  then  joining 
in  my  ecstasy  at  things  so  new  to  me. 

"I  remember  pleasant  visits  to  Sacramento  and  the  little 
town  of  Oakland  across  the  bay;  but  what  I  have  written  will 
show  how  tender  and  loving,  and  how  careful  for  our  comfort 
and  pleasure  father  was.  Upon  me  he  bestowed  a  lavish 
fondness  during  this  trip,  as  if  I  were  to  fill  the  places  of  those 
at  home.  He  loved  to  talk  of  them,  and  I  don't  remember 
that  we  ever  had  a  pleasure  of  a  special  character  that  he  did 
not  mention  each  absent  child. 

"  On  our  return  father  was  too  feeble  to  take  the  stage- 
ride,  and  we  sailed  from  San  Francisco  to  Los  Angeles. 
Here  we  feasted  upon  the  luscious  grapes  for  which  that 
country  is  noted.  When  we  reached  Fort  Davis,  I  think,  we 
were  compelled  to  spend  a  week  that  father  might  gain 
strength  for  the  rough  stage-travel.  He  was  able,  before  we 
left,  to  preach  to  a  large  congregation  of  men. 

"  In  company  with  our  friends  General  and  Mrs.  Pitts  we 
had  a  pleasant  trip  in  their  comfortable  carriage  from  San 
Marcos  to  Liberty,  a  small  town  where  the  Conference  was 
held — the  first  I  ever  attended.  Here  we  parted  with  our 
friends,  and  I  no  not  remember  anything  of  interest  till  we 
reached  New  Orleans,  where  father  seemed  much  better  and 
his  spirits  bright  and  joyous  at  nearing  home.  Before  we  got 
to  this  place,  father  had  talked  with  mother,  and  together 
they  had  decided  upon  the  gifts  they  would  purchase  for  the 
loved  ones  at  home.  Father  took  a  peculiar  pleasure  in  this 
27 


418  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.        [(,"Ar-  XIV- 

means  of  showing  his  love  and  affection,  and  no  one  ever 
more  fully  verified  the  truth  of  the  words,  '  It  is  more  blessed 
to  give  than  to  receive,'  than  did  our  father.  His  life  was 
one  of  sacrifice  and  love  to  the  world,  the  Church,  and  his 
family. 

"  On  December  22d  we  reached  home.  Father  was  much 
changed  by  the  sickness  he  contracted  while  away,  from  the 
effects  of  which  I  don't  think  he  ever  recovered." 

As  soon  as  he  reached  the  city  he  wrote  to  Claude  and 
Ella. 

"San  Francisco, June  i6,  1S59. 

"  MY  DEAR  CLAUDE:  YVc  are  all  here  safe  and  sound, 
thank  God.  The  trip  has  been  long,  hot,  and  laborious, 
but  pleasant  and  full  of  interest.  None  of  us  have  been  sick. 
Your  mother  beats  me  nodding.  Ann  lost  no  time  by  day 
or  night  in  sleeping,  and  as  to  eating,  we  took  wh.it  we  could 
get  and  asked  no  questions.  Everybody  expected  to  see  us 
broke  d  m  out,  and   will  hardly  believe  us  when  we 

tell  them  we  are  not  tired.  I  have  been  more  fatigued  com- 
ing from  Double  Wells  to  Sunshine.  Everything  isexciting — 
new  country,  wild,  desolate  often,  something  to  be  seen  every 
turn,  and  then  the  vels  from  seven  to  twelve  miles 

per  hour,  SO  that  you  never  take  time  to  think  of  weariness. 
The  particulars  of  the  route  you  must  look  for  in  the 
par* 

•'  Your  mother  is  delighted  with  California.  It  is  beauti- 
ful— surpassing  anything  I  ever  saw.  Oh,  such  fruits  !  The 
strawberries  are  as  large  as  hens'  egi^s,  cherries  fine,  and 
everything  on  a  grand  scale. 

"  We  were  terribly  disappointed  in  not  getting  letters 
from  home  yesterday.  A  few  lines  from  Lovick  was  all  we 
received.  We  have  written  to  some  of  you  every  chance — 
hope  you  get  the  letters.  Oh,  what  would  we  give  to  hear 
from  you  all  this  morning  !  Letters  a  month  old  fail  to  sat- 
isfy us.  It  is  the  best  the  case  allows.  So  we  must  put  up 
with  it.      I   shall   be  very  busy.     .     .     .     But  if  we  cannot 


1S59-3  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  419 

get  pudding,  we  must  take/zV,  if  it  is  old  and  mouldy.    Keep 
writing  anyhow,  some  will  come. 

"  As  I  wrote  in  my  last  we  have  been  to  Sacramento,  and 
have  returned.  I  am  holding  a  protracted  meeting  here — 
some  revival,  some  converts,  a  good  many  mourners,  and 
fine  prospects.  Thank  God  !  I  do  all  the  preaching  ;  the 
papers  say,  '  This  eloquent  divine  is  attracting  large  crowds.' 
May  he  win  souls  for  Christ  and  Methodism.  Will  my 
daughter  help  me  to  pray  for  usefulness  ? 

"  I  preached  for  the  Baptists  on  Sunday  morning;  had  a 
fine  time  ;  and  a  few  days  since  they  sent  me  twelve  dollars 
and  fifty  cents.  If  the  Methodists  would  pay  as  well  I  should 
get  rich  over  here.     Nous  verrons. 

"  Your  mother  is  getting  very  homesick.  She  fattens, 
however,  keeps  well,  and  looks  cheerful.  Ann  is  improving, 
has  made  quite  a  sensation  by  her  pretty,  quiet  manners. 
She  has  received  several  valuable  presents.  The  trip  will 
help  the  old  lady  and  the  little  one,  I  think.  Sunshine  is 
the  place  after  all,  they  say.  Ann  is  tired  of  city  life  already 
and  longs  for  room  to  run-  We  all  sit  down  occasionally  and 
talk  of  home  and  its  inmates.  It  relieves  the  oppression  of 
absence,  and  is  a  sort  of  substitute  for  letters.  I  laid  out 
half  of  my  Baptist  money  to-day  in  a  present  for  you.  Hope 
you  will  like  it.  Tell  Ella  I  shall  remember  her  in  a  gift  she 
needs  and  will  appreciate.  We  feel  very  affectionate  and  lib- 
eral in  this  land  of  gold.  We  will  have  a  Christmas  gift  for 
all,  great  and  small,  God  willing. 

"  I  am  anxious  to  hear  from  the  crop.  Success  is  very 
important  to  my  plans.  John  ought  to  write  to  me  ;  he 
knows  what  to  say  about  plantation  affairs. 

"  I  presume  on  the  receipt  of  this  you  will  all  be  together  : 
Lovick,  blooming  with  college  honors  ;  Mary,  happy  in  get- 
ting back  to  her  favorite  employments  ;  yourself,  rejoicing  in 
brother's  companionship  ;  El,  boasting  of  Julia's  beauty  and 
goodness  ;  John,  watching  cotton  squares,  and  hoping  the 
rust  will  keep  away  ;  Carrie,  charging  in  and  out,  around  and 
about  ;  Pierce,  soberly  seeking  his  own  enjoyment  in  his  own 


420  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.        [Chap.  xiv. 

way  ;  Jule,  crying  a  little,  and  sleeping  a  great  deal.  Oh, 
that  we  were  all  together  !  Let  us  do  right,  trust  God,  and 
hope  to  meet  again. 

"  Five  months  more  ! 

"  Love  to  all  from  all." 


"Petaluma,  Cal.,  August  10,  1859. 

"  My  DEAREST  CLAUDE :  Wc  have  been  to  a  camp-meet- 
ing on  Bodega  Circuit,  and  are  here  on  our  way  to  Sacra- 
mento. I  shall  Leave  your  mother  and  Ann  at  Sacramento, 
with  an  old  pupil  of  mine,  a  Mrs.  Harris,  and  shall  travel  at 
large  by  myself.  It  is  both  expensive  and  troublesome  to 
take  them  along.  Trunks  and  bonnet-boxes  are  very  much  in 
the  way. 

"  The  camp-meeting  was  a  nondescript.  I  never  saw  such 
an  affair,  and  hope  never  to  see  such  another.  The  tents  were 
set  down  without  lines  or  figures.  The  preacher's  tent  was  a 
part  of  the  stand,  and  right  by  it  was  another  for  the  women 
to  put  their  babies  in  when  they  went  to  sleep.  The.  arbor 
was  a  few  bushes  over  the   altar,    and  the   rest  shade-trees. 

Sunday,  at  1  1  o'clock,  the  women   filled  the  altar,  and  I 

ith  ten  babies  crying  right  under   my   nose.     Oh, 

me  !     The   meeting   was   rather  dull    till   the   last  day.     We 

then  had  several  conversions.      I  left  them  to-day,  going  on, 

and  expecting  to  hold  on  for  the  week. 

"  Wc  are  now  in  a  pretty  country,  but  I  am  sick  of  what 
they  call  a  Free  State.  A  man  who  would  bring  his  wife  here 
;-  hard-hearted.  The  women  are  slaves  of  the  lowest  order 
as  to  the  work  they  do.  I  hope  you  will  decline  all  idea  of 
moving  to  this  country. 

"  You  must  excuse  a  short  letter  this  time.  I  am  tired, 
have  a  poor  arrangement  for  writing,  and  feel  more  like  sleep- 
ing than  anything  else.  We  got  your  letter  of  the  9th  of 
June.  The  last  news — expect  a  letter  this  week.  Wc  write 
twice  a  week  to  you  all.     Trust  you  receive  the  letters. 

"  Before  you  get  this  Lovick  will  have  gone  back  to  Ox- 


1859]  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  421 

ford,  Mollie  to  Madison,  and  El  and  you  be  alone  once  more. 
Well,  time  is  flying.  Four  months  more  and  a  few  days 
will  return  us  to  Sunshine.  The  Lord  keep  us  and  bring  us 
back  to  find  you  all  well,  and  make  us  happy  together.  Kiss 
my  darlings  all  round. 

"  Most  affectionately, 

"  G.  F.  P." 

While  here  he  made  a  fair  survey  of  the  field,  and  came 
to  the  conclusion  expressed  in  the  following  letter. 

On  two  points  his  views  underwent  a  decided  change 
after  the  war :  On  changing  the  name  of  the  Church  and 
going  into  the  country  in  which  the  M.  E.  Church  had  occu- 
pancy. He  had  seen  the  evil  results  of  altar  against  altar  after 
the  war,  and  he  came  to  the  conclusion  in  later  years,  and  ad- 
hered to  it  to  the  end,  that  wisdom  and  grace  required  that 
each  branch  of  the  Church  should  adhere  to  the  plan  of  sep- 
aration. 

"  It  will  be  well  to  begin  this  letter  with  a  confession. 
Before  going  to  California  I  had  doubts  as  to  the  propriety 
of  our  organization  as  a  Church  in  that  country.  For  reasons 
not  necessary  now  to  mention  I  was  sceptical  as  to  our  ul- 
timate success.  Many  sober  brethren  urged  me  to  go  on, 
wind  up  the  Conference,  and  send  the  preachers  to  more 
promising  fields.  Some  old  ministers  and  some  lay  brethren 
made  statistical  calculations  and  tried  to  show  me  that  the 
Church  was  wasting  men  and  money  on  an  impracticable 
enterprise.  Many  of  our  people  took,  and  perhaps  still  main- 
tain, the  preposterous  idea  that  the  M.  E.  Church  South 
ought  to  be  restricted  to  the  Slave  States.  With  this  notion 
I  never  had  any  sympathy.  I  repudiate  it  as  unworthy  of  the 
Church — contrary  to  the  genius  of  the  Gospel — hostile  to  the 
very  mission  of  Christianity,  which  is  a  religion  for  all  people. 
Our  position  is  beyond  all  controversy  scriptural.  We  ren- 
der to  Caesar  the  things  which  are  Caesar's,  and  to  God  the 
things  which  are  God's.  There  is  nothing  in  our  doctrines, 
discipline,  or  policy — or  spirit  or  usage,  which  limits  or  re- 


422  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.        [Chap.  xiv. 

strains  our  movement.  The  world  is  our  parish  and  I  hope 
the  day  will  come  when  we  shall  be  numerously  represented 
in  every  State  and  Territory  of  the  American  continent — in 
every  nation  and  province,  every  continent  and  island  of  this 
round  earth.  Nevertheless,  I  had  thought  that  we  might 
perhaps  do  better  elsewhere  than  in  California.  With  this 
idea  in  my  mind  I  began  my  labors  and  observations  on  the 
Pacific  Coast.  I  visited  all  the  chief  towns,  travelled  through 
the  country,  preached  on  the  highway?  and  byways,  con- 
vened with  the  leading  men  of  the  State,  mingled  with  the 
multitude,  compared  Church  statistics,  and  I  think  reasoned 
fairly  upon  all  I  saw  and  heard,  and  came  deliberately  to  the 
following  conclusions:  1st.  That  the  M.  E,  Church  South 
was  a  necessity  and  a  blessing  in  California.  2d.  That  the 
Pacific  ought  to  be  vigorously  maintained  by  means  and  men. 
jd.  That  if  our  Church  authorities  would  send  Strong,  wise, 
experienced  ministers  there,  the  M.  E.  Church  South  in 
five  years  would  outnumber  all  other  denominations  combined. 
The  Church  North  would  rival  us  in  the  cities  and  in  the 
mines  ;  in  the  rural  districts  we  should  soon  count  five  to  their 
one,  and  in  a  short   time,   as    far   as  Methodism  is  concerned, 

lid  be  weilnigh  the  sole  occupants  of  the  land.  I  put 
these  opinions  on  record  here.  Time  will  test  their  sound- 
ness. 

"  Our  mere  presence,  to  say  nothing  of  our  example,  has 
been  a  restraint  upon  the  fanaticism  of  the  Northern  Method- 
ist preachers.  They  have  been  forced  by  the  presence  of  a 
public  sentiment,  which  we  helped  to  form  and  to  strengthen, 
into  at  least  a  (///^^/-conservatism.  The  tongue  of  denuncia- 
tion has  been  bridled,  and  lips  used  to  political  harangues 
have  been  constrained  to  preach  the  Gospel.  We  have  done 
them  a  service  which  they  are  not  likely  to  acknowledge,  and 
for  which  they  are-  not  as  thankful  and  as  loving  as  they  ought 
to  be.  They  are  unfriendly — alienated — cherish  no  fraternal 
regard  for  us.  This  is  sad — ought  not  to  be  so.  There  is 
no  good  reason  for  it.  The  policy  and  spirit  of  our  Church  is 
peace  with  all  men.     We  have  no   time  to  quarrel  and  have 


1859-]  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  423 

no  heart  for  it.  Amid  many  provocations  our  editors  and 
preachers  have  been  silent.  They  are  doing  a  great  work 
and  cannot  come  down  to  debate  slavery  or  wrangle  about 
politics.  May  they  continue  in  well-doing.  I  had  very  little 
intercourse  with  the  Northern  preachers.  I  met  my  old 
friend,  Rev.  Jesse  Peck,  D.D.,  and  two  or  three  others.  These 
were  all  polite  and  kind.  With  Dr.  P.  I  had  several  pleasant 
interviews.  We  talked  over  Church  matters  and  differences 
with  great  plainness  of  speech,  but  in  a  Christian  spirit.  Of 
course  I  was  not  invited  to  preach  in  a  Northern  Methodist 
church.  Yet  on  the  request  of  friends  I  was  allowed  to 
preach  in  one,  and  the  pastor  treated  me  courteously  and 
Christianly.  This  antagonism  of  ecclesiastical  organizations 
is  unfortunate.  By  building  on  the  foundation  of  Christ  and 
the  Apostles  (as  the  Church  South  has  done),  to  the  exclu- 
sion of  all  that  is  secular  and  political,  we  might  yet  harmo- 
nize and  be  one.  Is  this  a  likely  result  ?  I  fear  not.  While 
we  hold  to  the  Bible  and  Christ  the  head,  we  cannot,  dare 
not  change  our  position  ;  the  North,  deluded  by  a  false  idea, 
will  not  change.  So  we  must  leave  them  with  Reuben  and 
Gad  and  the  half-tribe  of  Manasseh  on  this  side  of  Jordan, 
while  we  go  up  to  possess  the  land. 

"  The  word  '  South  '  is  very  much  in  our  way,  just  be- 
cause it  has  a  sectional  sound.  Many  who  approve  our  posi- 
tion and  policy  are  hindered  from  coming  to  us  because  of 
that  appendage  to  our  name.  It  does  us  no  good  anywhere, 
and  is  turned  against  us  by  those  who  seek  occasion  to  find 
fault,  and  is  objected  to  by  many  who  could  come  to  us  if  it 
were  removed. 

"  In  view  of  probable  changes  and  of  our  duty  to  carry 
the  Gospel  to  every  creature  as  far  as  we  may,  the  cogno- 
men of  the  Church  is  of  grave  importance.  As  it  is  it  has 
to  be  explained,  and  when  the  explanation  is  given  we  only 
account  for  its  origin  without  a  word  for  its  intrinsic  pro- 
priety. Seeking  a  title  that  would  be  distinctive,  we  have 
furnished  an  argument  to  our  foes,  and  limited  by  name  a 
Church  that  ought  to  be  universal.     Thus  many  think  and 


421  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.       [Chap.  xiv. 

speak.  The  objection  is  plausible  if  not  real.  In  either  case 
we  should  '  cut  off  occasional  from  them  that  desire  occa- 
sion.' We  are  free,  in  fact,  to  go  anywhere,  and  where  we  go 
we  ought  not  to  defeat  ourselves  by  holding  on  to  an  expletive 
word.  For  one  I  am  in  favor  of  extending  our  Church  over 
the  whole  country.  It  would  be  a  blessing  to  the  nation. 
The  Methodism  of  the  South  everywhere  would  be  a  refuge 
— a  haven  to  the  conservative  from  the  storms  that  agitate 
and  threaten  to  uproot  and  tear  down  the  sanctified  institu- 
tions of  our  ecclesiastical  fathers.  At  any  rate,  I  go  for  main- 
taining and  largely  re-enforcing  our  organization  in  Califor- 
nia. It  is  a  solemn  duty  to  God  and  the  country.  We  must 
send  more  preaclicrs — men  of  position,  age,  experience.  The 
Church  there  needs  help,  deserves  it,  is  suffering  for  the  want 
of  it.  We  have  a  Conference  there  of  sixty  odd  preachers, 
but  they  are  mostly  young  men.  without  experience  and  not 
adapted  to  portions  of  the  work.  I  mean  them  no  disrespect 
by  the  remark,  for  in  my  soul  I  honor  them  for  their  work's 
sake.  They  are  heroes — bold,  fearless,  self-denying  men — 
who  do  not  count  their  lives  dear,  if  they  may  but  honor 
Christ  and  save  souls.  Many  of  them  perform  labors,  sub- 
mit to  inconveniences  not  only  without  murmuring,  but  with 
a  cheerful  spirit  which  would  locate  half  the  preachers  in  the 
East,  and  justify  them  wellnigh  with  the  other  half.  Of 
these  things  I  will  write  in  another  letter. 

"  But  to  show  that  our  Church  is  a  plant  with  a  living 
root  in  California,  let  it  be  remembered  that  the  State  is  only 
ten  years  old,  that  society  has  been  unsettled,  and  that  houses 
had  to  be  built,  farms  enclosed,  and  the  people  to  fix  them- 
selves for  living,  and  yet  there  we  have  regular  stations, 
good  churches,  good  parsonages,  well-organized  circuits,  and 
districts  and  more  circuit  parsonages  than  can  be  found  in 
one-half  of  the  old  Conferences.  We  have  schools  and  will 
soon  have  a  college  built  and  endowed  by  the  liberality  of 
the  people.  We  are  not  intruders  on  free  soil,  as  some  think, 
nor  yet  merely  welcome  guests,  but  accredited  ministers  and 
members  of  the  Church  of  God,  part  and  parcel  of  a  great 


1859.]  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  425 

and  rising  State,  doing  good  and  laying  the  foundation  of 
greater  usefulness  in  the  future.  The  people  of  California 
are  able  and  willing  to  sustain  their  preachers.  They  do  not 
ask  the  East  for  missionary  money,  but  for  strong,  holy  men. 
The  appropriation  last  year  was  not  large,  and  the  most  of 
that  was  applied  to  Oregon — an  entirely  new  field.  Take 
any  one  of  the  Eastern  Conferences,  strip  them  of  their  lead- 
ing men,  and  leave  them  dependent  on  their  probationers  for 
a  supply^  and  how  would  they  fare  ?  California  has  her  cities 
and  towns,  intelligent  circuit  people,  people  used  to  the  best 
preaching  in  the  old  States,  and  they  need  it  now  and  beg  us 
to  send  them  the  men.  To  confirm  the  statement  I  am  mak- 
ing, and  to  furnish  an  appeal  to  the  Conferences,  I  insert  a 
sentence  or  two  from  a  private  letter  urging  me  to  send  them 
help  :  '  I  know  you  will  if  yon  can.  If  you  cannot,  God  have 
mercy  on  those  eloquent  men  who  preach  and  speak  for  mis- 
sions, w ho  glorify  the  itinerancy  and  profess  so  much  love  for 
Southern  Methodism,  and  yet  complacently  look  on  and  see 
our  Church  here  suffer  for  lack  of  service  they  might  render, 
and  allow  us  to  destroy  ourselves  in  the  endeavor  to  do  that 
which  is  beyond  our  strength.  San  Fraticisco  requires  the 
service  of  one  of  our  strongest  and  most  devoted  men.'  Now, 
brethren,  read,  mark,  and  inwardly  digest  that  sentence. 
Where  is  that  'strong,  devoted  man?'  One  is  not  enough, 
we  must  have  '  several  of  that  description.'  San  Francisco, 
Sacramento,  San  Jose,  Bascom  Institute,  and  the  Pacific 
Methodist  College  all  need  help.  Some  young  men  of  two 
or  three  years'  experience  are  desired.  The  Conferences  are 
at  hand.  I  appeal  to  the  Bishops  for  help.  I  appeal  to  the 
preachers.  Some  of  them  ought  to  go  ;  in  the  name  of  the 
Lord  and  of  Methodism  I  say  it,  they  must  go.  The  Church 
is  committed  to  the  work,  souls  will  perish  if  we  decline. 
Why  are  brethren  reluctant  ?  What  do  they  fear  ?  The  long 
land  travel  ?  It  is  a  trifle.  The  writer  stood  it  and  had  a 
chill  every  day.  A  well  man  need  not  dread  it.  A  trip  by 
sea  ?  Hundreds  go  each  way  semi-monthly  for  mammon  ; 
shall  a  Christian  minister  falter  ?     The  work  is  pleasant,  the 


426  Life  ami  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.       [Cuap.  xiv 

pay  is  good,  the  climate  fine,  the  people  waiting  to  hear,  why 
tarry  ye?  Why?  Hark  !  if  any  man  love  houses  or  land,  or 
father  or  mother,  or  his  ease  more  than  Christ,  he  cannot  be 
a  disciple.     More  anon." 

During  his  stay  in  California  he  was  attacked  with  chills 
and  fever.  He  had  been  so  healthy  and  so  strong  that  he 
had  presumed  upon  it.  From  this  severe  attack  he  never  fully 
recovered.  His  indomitable  will  kept  him  up,  and  in  order 
to  meet  his  Conferences  in  Texas  he  resolved  to  again  take 
the  oyeiiand  route.      He  writes  of  this  trip  : 

"  The  Pacific  Conference  met  in  San  Francisco.  The  ses- 
i  was  brief  but  pleasant,  much  business  was  attended  to, 
Methodist-preacher  fashion — in  a  little  time.  On  many  sub- 
jects there  was  much  discussion,  but  harmony  and  brotherly 
love  prevailed.  The  brethren  there  seem  to  have  one  mind 
and  one  heart.  They  weep  together,  and  rejoice  together,  and 
share  the  changing  fortunes  of  an  itinerant  life  with  as  much 
patience,  fortitude,  and  devotion  as  an)'  men  I  have  ever  seen. 
Labor  is  no  burden  to  them,  they  love  their  work.  Incon- 
venience is  no  hardship;  for  the  yoke  of  Christ  is  easy  and 
his  burden  Light.  In  California,  as  elsewhere,  there  are  desir- 
able places,  and  places  which  a  man  would  not  prefer,  places 
now  unorganized,  hard  work  and  poor  pay  ;  but  there  is  no 
struggle  for  the  former  and  no  dodging  of  the  latter.  Many 
things  which  would  be  esteemed  in  the  East  as  intolerable, 
by  no  means  to  be  endured — a  triumphant  apology  for  loca- 
tion— arc  met,  endured,  enjoyed  by  the  brethren  in  California. 
To  feed  the  horse,  to  milk  the  cow,  to  work  the  garden,  to 
make  the  fire  and  draw  the  water,  to  cook,  and  wash  the 
dishes,  arc  menial  labors ;  but  California  preachers  sometimes 
do  all  these  things.  Single  men  rent  a  room  and  make  it  parlor, 
chamber,  kitchen,  and  dining-room — live  well  and  do  good. 
Married  men  help  their  wives  in  all  domestic  employments, 
and  live  independent  of  hired  help  for  economy's  sake  in  part, 
but  mainly  to  avoid  the  annoyance  and  vexation  of  white 
servants.  The  supply  in  this  department  consists  chiefly  of 
German  and  Irish  girls,  who  are  ignorant,  impudent,  and  lazy, 


1859.]  life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  427 

and  who,  taking  advantage  of  the  disproportion  between  sup- 
ply and  demand,  exact  high  wages  for  little  work,  and  leave 
without  notice  on  the  most  frivolous  pretences. 

"  I  was  delighted  with  the  spirit  of  self-denial,  the  humil- 
ity, and  yet  the  personal  independence  of  the  ministry  in  this 
'  Far  West  ; '  and  I  felt  that  with  such  instruments  there  was 
ground  for  hope  and  encouragement  as  to  the  future  history 
of  the  Church  on  the  Pacific.  An  humble,  holy,  working  min- 
istry will  do  good  anywhere  ;  and  while  education,  knowledge, 
experience,  are  all  elements  of  power  and  greatly  to  be  desired, 
yet  God  very  often  confounds  his  foes  and  surprises  his 
friends  by  means  and  operations  as  scriptural  as  they  are  zm- 
philosopliical.  The  wisdom  of  the  world  does  not  know 
everything,  and  the  faith  of  the  Church  is  too  often  a  sequence 
of  calculation  rather  than  a  simple  uncompounded  trust  in  the 
truth  and  faithfulness  of  God.  Weak  things  often  confound 
the  mighty,  and  things  mighty  in  human  estimation  often  fail 
to  realize  our  expectations. 

"  For  the  present  we  must  leave  California.  I  have  been 
sick  for  a  month  before  Conference,  up  and  down,  as  I  now 
think,  just  because  I  continued  to  preach  when  I  was  not  able 
to  do  it.  Lest  an  evil  report  of  the  health  of  the  country 
should  get  abroad  among  the  preachers  and  deter  some  from 
going,  it  is  proper  for  me  to  say  that  I  regard  California  as  a 
very  healthy  region,  and  that  my  own  long  indisposition  was 
not  the  result  of  the  climate,  but  of  my  own  imprudence  (I 
suppose  most  would  call  it)  ;  though  I  should  say  of  my  reso- 
lute purpose  to  do  the  work  assigned  me,  whatever  suffering 
it  might  cost  me.  If  in  my  feeble  state  I  could  have  returned 
by  water,  my  indisposition  would  have  ended  in  a  few  days. 
Rising  from  a  sick  bed  to  start,  I  took  the  steamer  to  San  Pe- 
dro, the  port  of  Los  Angeles,  and  was  on  the  ocean  three 
days  and  improved  in  health  all  the  time.  Failing  to  connect 
with  the  stage,  we  were  detained  three  days  at  Los  Angeles. 
Here  again  I  preached,  and  on  resuming  my  journey  I  relaps- 
ed. The  stage  was  crowded  with  passengers,  mail-bags,  and 
boxes  of  provisions,  and  our  situation  was  anything  but  com- 


•428  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.       [Chap.  x*v 

fortablc.  I  rode  eight  hundred  miles  with  my  limbs  at  an  an- 
gle of  forty-five  degrees,  and  was  never  able  to  get  more  than 
one  foot  to  the  floor  at  any  time.  The  chill  came  on  every 
day  about  sunset,  the  nights  were  very  cool,  but  my  fevers 
saved  me  from  suffering  much  with  cold.  Fourteen  days 
and  nights  did  I  travel  in  this  condition.  Twenty-four  hours 
before  reaching  Fort  Davis  we  encountered  a  '  norther,'  and 
we  had  wind,  sleet,  and  snow.  The  stage  curtains  were  rent, 
the  front  entirely  open,  and  we  were  in  a  prairie  region  where 
our  exposure  was  perfect.  The  discomforts  of  that  ride  will 
never  be  forgotten.  My  little  daughter  suffered  extremely. 
Mrs.  P.  complained  for  the  first  time,  and  in  the  midst  of  the 
storm  my  chill  came  on.  On  that  night  everybody  joined  me 
in  the  shake.  About  midnight,  in  utter  darkness,  the  sky 
black  as  ink,  the  winds  howling  like  hungry  wolves,  we 
reached  the  Fort.  The  agent  of  the  line,  the  officers  of  the 
army,  and  the  driver  urged  us  to  stop  and  wait  the  next  stage. 
We  yielded,  knowing  that  we  must  stop  at  the  next  fort  when 
we  changed  to  the  San  Antonio  line  of  stages. 

"  It  was  well  we  did  lie  over,  for  there  I  had  two  of  the 
sickest  days  of  my  life.  We  expected  to  take  the  next  stage, 
but  it  was  full,  and  the  next,  and  so  we  were  detained  eight 
days.  At  this  point  I  must  record  my  sense  of  obligation  to 
the  officers  of  Fort  Davis,  Colonel  Scawcll  and  Lieutenant  Van 
Horn,  the  sutler  Mr.  Young,  and  others.  Most  of  the  regi- 
ment stationed  here,  both  officers  and  men,  were  absent  hold- 
ing a  court-martial.  But  those  named  above  were  as  kind 
and  attentive  as  though  we  had  been  the  friends  of  other 
years.  Furnished  with  a  house  and  servant,  fed  and  nursed 
with  watchful  tenderness,  ever)-  want  anticipated,  and,  as  far 
as  possible,  supplied,  we  felt  thankful  to  God  and  proud  of  our 
country.  These  gentlemen,  bred  to  arms  and  living  beyond 
the  pale  of  civilization,  yet  retain  and  cherish  the  amenities  of 
social  life,  and  dispense  a  noble  hospitality  even  to  the  pass- 
ing stranger.  An  army  of  such  men  is  one  of  the  safeguards 
of  the  Republic,  and  deserves  the  admiration  and  confidence 
of  the  people  whose  interests  they  defend.      They  never  could 


1859-3  Life  and  Times  of  George  F-  Pierce.  429 

be  made  the  agents  of  usurpation,  the  servile  tools  of  power, 
or  in  any  way  compromise  the  rights  and  glory  of  our  com- 
mon country. 

"  I  left  Fort  Davis  in  wretched  plight  for  travelling,  but 
reached  Camp  Stockton,  eighty  miles  distant,  and  here  again 
I  was  very  sick  for  a  day  and  night.  And  again  I  was  in- 
debted to  the  army  for  quarters  and  much  kindness.  Cap- 
tain Carpenter  and  Lieutenant  Jones  were  friends  in  the  hour 
of  need,  and  made  my  detention  as  pleasant  as  my  sickness 
would  allow.  I  owe  them  many  thanks,  and  pray  heaven's 
richest  blessings  upon  them. 

"  At  this  point  my  only  chance  to  get  on  was  to  hire  an 
extra.  This  Mr.  Holliday  the  agent  kindly  furnished.  By 
this  time  I  was  so  feeble  and  exhausted  that  to  sit  up  was  a 
task,  and  yet  a  travel  of  four  days  and  nights  must  be  endured 
ere  I  could  rest  even  for  an  hour.  Hiding  my  sufferings  as 
much  as  possible,  I  proceeded,  and  often  felt  that  I  could  go 
no  farther  ;  yet  on  we  went,  day  and  night.  To  add  to  the 
evils  of  the  trip,  the  Comanches  were  about,  plundering  and 
killing.  Many  people  at  the  several  stations  bid  us  farewell 
forever,  never  expecting  to  see  us  again.  Tales  of  blood  and 
murder  were  rife  all  along  as  we  approached  the  settlements. 
But  we  saw  no  Indians,  and  by  a  merciful  providence  were 
delivered  from  all  dangers.  The  only  mishap,  save  an  upset 
in  which  nobody  was  hurt,  was  that  one  night,  about  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty  miles  from  San  Antonio,  in  changing  stages 
and  transferring  baggage,  Mrs.  Pierce's  trunk  was  left.  My 
lady  readers  can  estimate  the  seriousness  of  that  calamity. 
We  had  gone  sixty  miles  before  it  was  missed,  and  how  to 
recover  it  was  a  question  hard  to  answer.  The  agent,  who 
was  along,  took  the  return  stage  and  promised  to  forward  it 
if  it  could  be  found.  So  on  reaching  San  Antonio  I  sent  Mrs. 
Pierce  and  the  little  girl  to  General  Pitts',  to  rest  a  few  days 
and  wait  the  arrival  of  the  trunk,  while  I  diverged  for  the  Rio 
Grande  Conference  at  Goliad.  I  left,  at  midnight,  in  another 
'  norther,'  being  the  third  I  had  faced  on  the  trip.  The 
driver,  to  protect  himself,  got  down  into  the  boot  under  his 


430  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.       [Chap.  xiv. 

seat,  and,  trusting  to  the  mules  to  keep  the  road,  went  to 
sleep.  By  and  by,  finding  the  motion  of  the  stage  very 
peculiar,  and  hearing  the  wheels  crashing  along  among  the 
bushes,  I  called  out  to  know  what  was  the  matter.  There 
were  three  of  us  all  buttoned  up  inside,  and  by  a  united  effort 
we  at  last  waked  up  our  driver,  and  found  ourselves  nobody 
knew  where.  We  were  lost.  The  team  had  left  the  road, 
but  whether  they  had  gone  to  the  right  or  left,  backward  or 
forward,  nobody  could  tell.  We  were  in  '  a  fix,'  and  no  mis- 
take. After  all,  I  was  to  be  disappointed  in  reaching  the 
Conference.  I  had  perilled  life,  endured  more  than  I  shall 
ever  tell,  to  get  there  before  adjournment,  and  now  to  be  so 
utterly  defeated  by  a  sleepy-headed  coachman — it  was  too 
bad.  My  patience  fairly  gave  out  That  night  was  one  to  be 
marked.  We  were  freezing,  and  could  not  stand  still.  So 
we  journeyed  north,  south,  ea^-t,  and  west,  around  and  across 
and  about.  Just  before  day  we  reached  a  creek,  with  steep, 
sandy,  broken  banks,  we  must  cross.  My  fellow-passengers 
got  out  to  walk.  Too  sick  to  stand,  much  less  to  climb,  I 
sat  still,  but  SOOI1  found  that  to  turn  over  was  inevitable.  I 
out  and  left  the  driver  to  his  doom.  Presently  here  he 
came,  sailing  in  the  air,  and  the  mules  and  the  stage  after  him, 

-  and  over — such  a  pile  !  This  was  the  consummation  of 
trouble.  We  helped  to  set  up  the  stage  and  left  the  driver 
to  get  the  nudes  out  of  the  creek  as  best  he  could,  while  we 
returned  a  little  way  to  a  house  we  had  seen,  in  search  of  fire. 
Finally  all  was  made  ready,  and  we  reached  San  Antonio  the 
following  night.  I  was  present  at  one  session  of  the  Confer- 
ence— a  poor  compensation  for  my  trouble  ;  but  I  had  done 
my  duty  according  to  my  ability — my  body  was  sick,  but 
my  conscience  was  well. 

'•  Prom  Goliad  I  went  to  La  Grange,  the  seat  of  the  Texas 
Conference.  By  the  kindness  of  Brother  Fly,  who  took  me 
in  his  buggy,  I  was  saved  the  fatigue  and  exposure  of  night 
travel,  and  was  thus  enabled  to  make  the  trip.  Even  thus, 
nature  was  exhausted  and  I  was  confined  to  the  bed  for  two 
or  three   days.     The  doctors  held  a  consultation  over  me, 


i859-]  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  431 

and  tried  to  make  me  believe  that  I  was  on  the  verge  of  fatal 
illness ;  but  I  resolved  to  resist  the  doctors  and  the  disease, 
and  to  meet  the  duties  of  the  Conference.  I  did  so,  but  it 
was  a  costly  sacrifice  to  my  poor  body.  While  yet  in  bed 
Mrs.  Pierce  arrived  and  reported  that  she  had  no  tidings  of 
the  lost  trunk.  Here  was  a  dilemma — far  from  home,  money 
wellnigh  spent,  and  wife  and  daughter  with  '  nothing  to  wear ! ' 
By  the  generous  kindness  of  Sisters  Haynie,  Alexander,  and 
others,  an  outfit,  or  rather  a  refit,  was  soon  forthcoming.  Warm 
hearts  and  busy  fingers  in  a  little  time  prepared  Mrs.  Pierce  and 
the  little  girl  '  to  go  out,'  and  the  expenses  of  '  shopping '  did 
not  lighten  my  already  attenuated  purse.  Friends  in  need  are 
good  things — very.  Texas  is  a  very  good  place  to  find  them. 
My  old  friend  Pitts  and  wife,  who  came  over  with  my  family, 
did  me  no  little  kindness,  by  carrying  me  in  their  carriage  to 
and  from  the  Conference  room.  The  General  also  promised 
to  look  after  the  trunk  and  forward  it  to  New  Orleans. 

"Brother  Ligon,  with  whom  we  stayed,  and  to  whom  and 
his  better  half  we  were  indebted  for  many  comforts,  when  the 
time  for  leaving  came,  furnished  me  with  a  pair  of  mules,  and 
Brother  Thrall  furnished  a  barouche,  and  Brother  Addison, 
one  of  the  preachers,  proposed  to  be  driver,  and,  thus  fitted 
up,  we  left  for  Palestine.  After  a  long,  tedious,  wearisome 
journey  we  reached  our  destination.  Brother  Addison  is 
down  in  the  book  of  my  memory,  for  he  helped  me  so  much. 
I  could  not  have  made  the  trip  alone,  and  with  his  brotherly, 
faithful  services  barely  got  through.  But  the  Conference 
was  held,  and  the  hour  of  adjournment  was  reached  in  har- 
mony and  love.  A  furious  snow-storm  came  on  ;  the  like 
was  never  seen  before  in  Texas.  The  last  days  of  the  Con- 
ference involved  us  all  in  much  exposure.  I  never  saw  such 
a  spell  of  weather  anywhere.  In  the  midst  of  it  we  read  out 
the  appointments,  and  bade  each  other  farewell.  Taking  the 
afternoon  and  night  to  recruit,  I  made  my  arrangements  to 
start  the  next  day  for  home,  storm  or  no  storm.  Brother 
Eiglehart,  at  whose  house  we  were  entertained,  urged  us  to 
stay  and  wait  for  sunlight  and  a  milder  temperature.     But 


432  Life'  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.        tc""'  XIV- 

long  absence  from  the  loved  ones  at  home,  continued  sickness 
and  suffering  without  any  prospect  of  relief,  save  in  rest,  ces- 
sation from  labor  and  mental  repose,  made  me  impatient  to 
go,  and  so,  '  tearing  ourselves  away  from  all  the  comforts  of 
a  noble  hospitality,  we  faced  the  tempest  and  set  out  for 
Sunshine.  Verily  we  had  a  bitter  ride  for  several  days  and 
nights.  But  I  had  braced  myself  to  endure  and  to  conquer. 
The  first  night  we  spent  in  Rusk,  where  my  sister  (Mrs. 
Wiggins)  resides,  and  then  we  took  the  stage  for  Alexandria. 
Fortunately,  we  were  not  crowded,  and  made  ourselves  as 
comfortable  as  constant  motion  would  allow.  The  incidents 
of  the  journey  might  be  detailed  with  interest,  if  time  were 
plenty  on  my  hands  ;  but  I  have  more  important  business 
just  now,  and  must  come  to  a  close. 

"  We  reached  New  Orleans  in  due  season,  found  very 
comfortable  quarters  with  Brother  Stewart,  and  were  detained 
several  days,  waiting  for  our  baggage.  Mine  had  been  shipped 
at  San  Francisco  for  New  York,  and  ordered  by  express 
to  this  point  Mrs.  Tierce's,  as  stated  before,  if  found,  was 
also  to  come  by  express,  and  both  should  have  been  here  on 
our  arrival.  But  neither  had  come,  and  so  we  tarried  only  to 
be  disappointed.  We  left  at  last,  giving  up  all  as  lost.  The 
loss  in  i  f  real  value  was  considerable  to  us,  who  never 

had  much  to  spare;  but  in  those  trunks  were  many  curious 
things  picked  up  in  our  travel,  mementos  of  friendship,  and 
gifts  designed  for  the  children  we  had  left  so  long.  But  we 
were  going  home,  and  this  was  a  fact  too  pleasant  to  be 
marred  l>y  useless  regrets.  With  cheerful  hearts  we  moved 
on,  and  grew  happier  as  we  lessened  the  distance  between 
US  and  our  humble  residence.  At  last  we  arrived.  I  thought 
of  life's  weary  journey,  its  end,  and  of  heaven  and  its  wel- 
come. And  now  I  must  record  my  gratitude  to  God  for  all 
his  mercies  to  me  and  mine.  We  were  preserved  from  all 
accidents  in  a  travel  of  ten  thousand  miles,  by  sea  and  land, 
in  all  sorts  of  conveyances,  through  deserts,  among  savages, 
by  day  and  night.  Bless  the  Lord,  O  my  soul;  and  all  that 
is  within  me,  bless  his  holv  name. 


1859.]  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  433 

"Two  months  after  we  reached  home — first  one,  then  the 
other — the  lost  trunks  came  to  hand.  They  were  battered 
and  worn,  but  the  contents  were  all  safe.  The  dumb  things 
could  give  no  account  of  themselves  or  their  peregrinations. 
Where  they  had  been,  we  never  shall  know,  but  after  much 
wandering  and  many  delays  they  reached  home.  Mine  is 
now  about  to  resume  its  travels,  and  with  my  past  experience 
of  its  tendency  to  prodigal  habits,  I  shall  put  it  under  more 
careful  regimen  for  the  future.  Mrs.  Pierce's,  I  think  will 
not  be  trusted  abroad  any  more,  but  will  take  position  in  the 
ranks  of  the  local  itinerancy. 

"  In  winding  up  these  notes  of  travel  I  must  go  back  to 
San  Francisco  and  express  my  obligation  to  the  brethren 
Fitzgerald,  Spencer,  and  Genella.  With  the  first  two  we 
found  a  home  when  we  were  in  the  city.  I  do  not  mean 
food  and  lodging  merely,  but  such  rest,  friendship,  and  kind- 
ness as  robbed  absence  of  its  gloom,  and  made  a  land  of 
strangers  a  place  of  enjoyment  and  repose.  Christ  promised 
to  the  faithful  minister,  who  left  all  to  follow  him,  houses 
and  land,  fathers,  mothers,  friends.  These  brethren  and  their 
families,  as  instruments,  redeemed'that  word  of  promise  to 
me  and  made  me  feel  as  much  at  home  on  the  far  Pacific 
coast  as  here  among  my  native  hills.  Peace  be  upon  them, 
and  prosperity  within  their  gates.  Brother  Genella  is  a  re- 
production of  the  'well-beloved  Gaius,'  of  whom  the  Apostle 
Paul  writes  so  lovingly.  The  friend  of  the  Church  and  the 
preachers,  he  is  the  courteous  servant,  the  ever-ready,  oblig- 
ing helper  of  both.  His  big  soul  takes  in  all  the  interests  of 
our  Zion,  and  there  are  still  chambers  to  let.  There  is  room 
for  every  good  thing.  He  never  knows  when  he  has  done 
enough.  He  plans  easily,  gives  liberally,  executes  promptly. 
One  such  man  is  worth  to  the  Church  acres  of  drones.  The 
Lord  make  them  a  thousand-fold  so  many  more  as  they  are. 
I  am  his  debtor  in  many  respects,  both  for  personal  favors 
and  relative  kindness.  My  little  daughter  has  made  his  name 
a  household  word.  May  he  live  long,  live  in  California,  live 
to  see  a  fine  Southern  Methodist  church  in  San  Francisco, 
28 


431  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce       [Chap,  xiv. 

live  to  count  his  brethren  by  the  hundred,  and  to  enjoy  the 
ministrations  of  the  Word  in  our  own  spacious,  consecrated 
temple. 

"  I  have  had  a  long,  hard  bout  with  the  chills,  and  if  I  had 
time  would  furnish  a  catalogue  of  remedies,  all  infallible,  for 
the  benefit  of  an>' who  ma)'  be  similarly  afflicted.      Desiring 

do  good  in  every  way,  I  may  hereafter  publish  a  list  of 
recipes,  allopathic,  homoeopathic, hydropathic,  scientific,  and 
superstitiou  true  none  of  them  did  me  ai  I,  but 

•  mine  was  a  peculiar,  exceptionable  case,  for  I  am  assured  by 
reliabli  and  many  infallible  signs  that  any  one  o(  the 

remedies,  from  quinine  up  to  corn-shuck  tea,  will  cure  the 
oldest  and  most  stubborn  case.  But  the  victims  must  wait 
on  me  a  little  while.  In  the  meantime  I  commend  them  to 
hope  and  patien 

Thus  ends  this  story  of  his  first   visit  to  the   Pacific  coast 

I  of  his  return.  He  went  out  strong,  stout,  elastic.  He 
had  never  been  y  iil  in  all  his  life.      He  had  no  fear  of 

breaking  down.  He  had  an  indomitable  will,  and  was  as  im- 
a  mountain  of  granite  when  he  took  a  stand.  Ik- 
came  back  from  his  journey  thin,  worn,  feeble.  The  strong 
man  had,  in  a  few  months,  been  so  changed  as  to  be  barely 
rec  the  same.     He  did  not,  however,  stay  from  the 

pulpit  long.  He  reached  home  earl)-  in  January  of  1S60,  and 
in  February  he  preached  in  Sparta,  and  he  kept  up  his  preach- 

,,  not  intermitting  a  Sunday.  He  would  preach,  and  then 
have    a    chill  ;    would    rally,    and   preach   again.      At   last   he 

I    rid    of  his  persistent    foe;    an  electric    bath   at  the  Indian 
ended  the  long  siege.      He  was  as  cheerful  as  a  bird 
in  the  midst  of  all  these  strugglings  for  health. 

The  first  of  i860  was  mainly  a  struggle  with  the  ague, 
but  in  the  summer  he  was  free  from  it,  and  while  he  never 
regained  his  flesh,  yet  till  the  fastening  of  tiie  terrible  disease 
which  brought  him  to  the  grave,  upon  his  throat,  years  after- 
ward, he  had  almost  unbroken  health.  He  went  to  Nash- 
ville, and  took  as  his  share  of  work  the  Tennessee,  Memphis, 
Arkansas,  and  Georgia  Conferences. 


!sv,-3  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  435 

He  began  his  Western  tour  by  going  to  the  Tennessee 
Conference  in  October.  Of  this  visit  I  am  able  to  give, 
through  the  Rev.  S.  M.  Cherry,  of  the  Tennessee  Conference, 
a  charming  picture  of  his  simplicity  and  unaffected  goodness 
uf  heart.      He  says  : 

"  Early  in  the  session  quite  a  number  of  us  walked  with 
him  from  the  Conference  room.  We  passed  a  wagon  heavily 
loaded,  which  was  stalled  on  a  steep  hillside  in  a  leading- 
street  in  the  city  of  Clarkesville.  A  number  of  clerks,  busi- 
ness men,_  and  others  observed  the  futile  efforts  of  the  driver 
to  move  his  team.  The  preachers  were  passing,  like  the  priest 
and  the  Levite  did  the  Samaritan,  looking  upon  the  man  in 
his  distress  ;  but  when  the  Bishop  came,  without  a  word  he 
went  to  one  of  the  rear  wheels  of  the  wagon,  and  laid  hold  to 
give  a  lift  to  the  wheel.  There  were  now  hardly  spokes 
enough  for  those  who  wanted  to  help." 


CHAPTER   XV. 

THE  WAR,   1861-1865,  AGED  50-54. 

His    Views — Letters   to   Luvick — Dr.   Pierce   to  Loviclc — Mr5.  Ann    M. 
Pierce    to  Lovick — Sermon  before  the    Legislature — Letters — Lovick 
inded — \'isit  to  Richmond — Lovick*s  Return  to  the  Field — The 
End  of  the  War. 

If    I   am  to   write   the  story  of  Bishop    Pierce's  life  I  must 
it  a-  it  was.     Anxious  I  am  that  perfect  harmony  between 

the  sections  of  our  once — and  alas  still,  to  a  sad  degree — 
divided  country  should  he  restored,  I  cannot  think  the  I 
way  to  secure  this  result  would  he  to  suppress  truths  or  tell 
things  that  were  not  true.  Anxious  as  I  am  that  the  subject 
of  this  biography  should  be  seen  in  his  most  attractive  garb 
by    all    men,  I    am    not  willing  to  deny  or  conceal  any  fact  of 

his  history  which  was  plainly  brought  out,  and  [cannot deny 
that  Bishop  Simpson  was  not  more  ardently  a  friend  of  the 
United   St  Government,  nor   more  anxious  for    the  tri- 

umph of  tin-  arms  of  the  United  States  than  Bishop  Pierce  was 
for  the  establishment  of  a  separate  Southern  Confederacy. 
1  i  had  had  little  to  do  with  politics,  and  his  friends  were  on 
all  sides  of  the  Southern  question  ;  but  he  was  a  Southerner 
of  the  Southerners,  and  those  political  principles  which  con- 
trolled the  South  in  her  secession  were  fully  accepted  by  him 
as  true.  If  a  State  was  so  aggrieved  by  the  general  Govern- 
ment that  she  believed  her  safety  demanded  her  secession, 
he  thought  she  had  a  right  to  go,  and  no  one  had  a  right  to 
coerce  her  or  say  her  nay.  These  principles  he  had  been 
taught  in  his  boyhood.  The  abolitionist  was  not  to  him  a 
misguided  philanthropist  ;  he  was  a  wild  fanatic,  an  insane 
anarchi>t,  a  law-breaker,    a    wicked    intermeddler    in    other 


LOVICK,  SALLIE,  AND    CLAUDE. 


1861-1865.]         [jfe  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  437 

men's  matters,  who  was  disloyal  to  the  laws  of  God  and  of 
man.  Bishop  Pierce  was  a  Union  man  and  an  old  Whig. 
Like  his  father  and  Bishop  Andrew,  he  had  no  use  for  an 
abolitionist  or  a  fire-eater.  He  believed  in  the  Gospel;  he 
saw  in  it  the  only  hope  for  the  nations,  and  he  was  set  for  its 
defence.  He  voted  for  Bell  and  Everett  in  i860,  as  he  had 
voted  for  Webster  and  Jenkins  in  1852.  He  dreaded  the  re- 
sults of  secession.  He  never  had  a  doubt  of  its  legality,  and 
if  a  State  was  willing  to  surrender  the  advantages  of  union 
she  was  entitled  to  all  the  benefits  of  secession.  He  saw  in  the 
onward  progress  of  the  Anti-slavery  feeling  the  inevitable 
result  of  forcible  abolition,  and,  as  he  believed,  the  over- 
throw of  our  civilization  and  of  that  of  the  blacks.  He  had 
reluctantly  reached  the  conclusion  that  the  crisis  had  come ; 
that  it  was  resistance  then  or  never,  and  he  took  his  place 
with  his  people  as  an  advocate  of  independence.  He  was 
not  dragooned  into  it ;  he  was  not  cajoled  ;  he  was  confident 
he  was  right.  He  stood  by  his  convictions.  He  was  as  kind 
a  master  as  ever  lived  ;  his  ancestors  had  been  such  before 
him.  He  preached  to,  prayed  for,  his  own  slaves  and  those 
of  his  neighbors.  He  loved  the  poor  and  degraded  of  every 
race,  but  he  believed  freedom  to  the  negroes,  to  do  as  they 
pleased,  would  be  freedom  to  go  to  the  bad.  These  were  his 
views,  never  concealed,  never  apologized  for.  He  held  them 
to  the  end  and  changed  not  a  jot  nor  a  tittle. 

The  war-storm  burst  in  April,  1861.  His  only  son,  his 
son-in-law,  the  pastor  of  his  village  church,  volunteered  and 
went  with  his  blessing  to  the  field,  and  from  the  moment 
that  the  first  gun  was  fired  on  Sumter,  to  the  time  when  the 
last  soldier  straggling  homeward  found  shelter  at  Sunshine, 
all  the  man  could  do  to  secure  the  success  of  the  cause  was 
done.  He  never  visited  Richmond.  He  never  was  advised 
with  by  Mr.  Davis  or  his  cabinet,  or  by  the  generals  in  the  field. 
He  never  went  upon  any  platform,  save  among  the  people  of 
his  own  country,  but  he  stood  by  the  Confederacy.  He  went 
from  Augusta  home,  after  Conference  closed,  December,  i860, 
and  remained  there  most  of  the  year  1861.     For  the  first  time 


438  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.         [CnAr.  xv. 

since  1836  his  memorandum  docs  not  tell  where  he  went  or  on 
what  he  preached,  and  only  gives  the  number  of  sermons.  The 
need  for  diligent  work  on  the  farm  was  now  so  pressing,  money 

so  scarce,  and  trade  so  stagnated,  that  all  energy  must  be 
put  forth  to  get  a  livelihood  ;  and  the  whole  land  was  in  such 
a  state  of  agitation  that  calm  thought  was  all  but  impossi- 
ble. The  idea  that  the  members  of  the  United  States  who 
had  not  withdrawn  from  the  Federation  would  attempt  to 
coerce  those  who  did,  Southern  men  were  slow  to  believe, 
ami  it  was  a  long  time  before  they  became  assured  that  in  the 
Northern  mind  disunion  and  destruction  were  coupled  in- 
separably together  ;  but  the  troops  were  called  out,  the  volun- 
teers marched  to  the  field.  The  Fifteenth  Georgia,  Colonel 
Thorn. 1-;  W.  Thomas  commanding,  with  Lovick  Tierce,  and 
Henry  Middlebrooks  privates,  inarched  to  the  front,  and  to 
Virginia 

The  father  wrote  to  the  son  in  July,  l86l.  His  letters 
were  man}-  after  this.  Many  of  them  I  publish,  some  I  d«> 
not.  Bishop  Pierce  was  not  infallible  in  judgment,  nor  im- 
maculate in  temper.  He  said  things  at  white  heat  that  he 
would  n<>t  have  said  after  the  fire  had  burned  low.  He  said 
some  things  in  private  correspondence  that  were  for  his  son's 
I  have  not  violated  his  confidence.  I  do  not 
think  the  grave  breaks  all  seals  and  destroys  all  confidences, 
nor  am  I  di  e  down  his  utterance-,  nor  make  him 

ear  other  than  he  was.  If  there  arc  any  who  will  honor 
him  the  less  because  of  his  adherence  to  the  Southern  cause, 
or  because  he  was  so  full}-  in  sympathy  with  the  struggle  for 
Southern  independence,  so  be  it.  It  is  a  fact;  his  memory 
demands  the  recognition  of  it.  lie  wrote  to  Lovick  in  Jul)-, 
just  after  the  battle  and  the  victory  of  the  first  Manassas. 

"July  23,  isr„. 
"  I  have  put  off  writing  to  you  till   I   supposed  you  were 
our  destination  and  ready  to  hear  from  us.      We  are  all 

in  health,  but  feel  lonely  and  a  little  sad.      We  miss  you  much. 

Heard  from  Sallie  to-day.     She  is  well.     We  are  all  rejoicing 


1861-1865.]  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  439 

over  the  victory  at  Manassas.  I  preach  a  Thanksgiving  ser- 
mon on  Sunday  in  Sparta.  Our  joy  is  mingled  with  tears. 
Poor  Bartow.  Oh  how  many  desolate  hearts  and  hearths  that 
battle  has  made.  It  was  an  awful  fight  and  a  glorious  vic- 
tory.    Thank  God ! 

"  I  hope  you  accepted  the  post  Colonel  Thomas  offered 
you.  It  is  honorable,  and  will  save  you  from  much  exposure 
and  hard  work.  Your  duties  as  Secretary  will  be  light  gener- 
ally, never  laborious.  I  hope,  my  dear  son,  amid  temptations 
you  will  keep  your  heart  with  diligence.  Remember  who 
and  what  you  are.  Be  circumspect,  prayerful,  and  obedient 
to  God  ;  in  a  word,  faithful  to  every  duty.  Never  touch 
liquor,  for  example's  sake.  Abstain  from  all  appearance  of 
evil.  Do  your  duty  like  a  man.  The  brave  are  safer  than 
the  fearful.  I  hope  you  will  win  honor  and  secure  an  influence 
valuable  to  you  in  after-life.  My  faith  is,  that  God  will  keep 
you  from  harm  and  return  you  to  us.  God  grant  that  the 
war  may  be  short.  Since  you  left  we  have  had  fine  rains. 
Corn  is  secure.  Cotton  is  fine  ;  I  never  had  so  fine  a  prospect. 
It  is  likely  that  I  will  come  to  see  you  this  fall.  All  send  love. 
Heaven  bless  you  with  health  and  safety. 

"  P.S. — Give  my  kind  regards  to  Colonel  Thomas, 
Stevens,  and  Smith.  Write  often.  Tell  Haygood  to  write 
to  me." 

And  to  Lovick's  wife,  a  few  weeks  afterward  : 

"  August  14,  1861. 
"  My  Dear  Sallie  :  We  ail  miss  you  much,  and  wish  you 
were  back  at  home.  The  carpenters  are  gone  at  last,  and  we 
have  quiet  possession.  Your  father  was  out  to  see  us  yester- 
day, and  a  tremendous  rain  has  followed.  Your  mother  talks 
of  coming  up  to  see  you  soon.  If  the  money  was  not  so 
scarce  Claude  would  go  with  her  I  believe.  We  have  been 
down  to  see  Ella  and  her  progeny.     All  well. 

"The  several  Female  Associations  of  Hancock  are  busy 
with  scissors  and  needles  for  the  soldiers.  War,  soldiers' 
clothing,  food,  seems  to  engage  all  tongues  and  all  hearts. 


440  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce,        tCuAI'  xv- 

This  wicked  strife,  with  all  its  horrors,  is  developing  some  of 
the  best  traits  of  human  character  among  the  people.  The 
religious  sentiment  has  been  largely  called  out,  self-denial  for 
the  benefit  of  others  is  operating  on  some  hard  cases.  Lazy 
girls  are  at  work,  and  everybody  is  alive  to  the  great  interests 
invoked.  Hut  still  1  pray  for  peace.  Heaven  bring  the  war 
to  a  speedy  end.  Oh,  how  many  hearts  are  broken  with  grief, 
and  how  many  more  are  aching  with  anxiety.  Among  the 
rest  1  feel  a  deep  Concern,  yet  am  cheerful  with  hope,  and 
confidently  expect  Doc  and  Henry  and  George  to  return. 
Let  us  pray  God  to  cut  short  the  unnatural  contest. 

"  My  old  woman  wrote  to  you  last  week.  Hope  you  got 
the  letter.  We  are  looking  every  day  for  Tom,  and  Clara 
with  her  children.  We  keep  a  full  house,  but  your  room  is 
vacant  and  our  hearts  will  bid  you  welcome.  The  sooner  you 
come  the  better.  We  shall  all  hear  from  Lovick  the  oftener 
ifyou  were  here,  and  so  would  you.  Ann  sends  love.  Claude 
is  down  at  Brother  M  -ks.  The  children  are  asleep  and 
my  bedtime  has  come.     So  good-night.     Tell  Fannie  to  kiss 

:  for  me.  I  shall  look  for  a  letter  soon.  Write  certain  and 
sure." 

from  Dr.  Pierce  to  L.  Pierce,  Jr. 

■■  "  '  >ber  i,  1861. 
"  Here  I  am,  at  Sunshine,  but  without  sunshine  to-day, 
only  through  clouds  and  mists.  Indeed  if  we  were  to  speak 
figuratively  we  might  say,  we  don't  have  any  sunny  days 
about  here.  The  absence  of  our  children  and  grandchildren, 
and  the  knowledge  of  their  exposure,  not  only  to  the  enemy's 
guns,  but  also  to  camp  pestilences — we  can't  but  live  under 
clouds.  Hut  to  those  of  us  who  fully  believe  in  a  special 
providence — a  providence  that  never  overlooks  a  sparrow — 
cannot  be  relied  upon  as  a  providence  that  overlooks  and 
cares  for  all  the  sparrows.  General  providence  is  made  up  of 
particular  and  special  providence  ;  indeed  there  could  not  be 
what  we  believers  mean  by  providence  without  the  capacity 
and  the  will  to  take  care  of  every  sparrow  in  the  vast  universe  of 


1861-1865.]         Ufa  ami  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  441 

God.  Therefore  true  believers  feel  assured  that  in  the  fiery 
conflict,  where  bullets  fill  the  air  like  hail,  still  God  can  turn 
them  all  aside  ;  and,  as  in  the  case  of  the  sparrow,  not  one 
shall  fall  until  providence  shall  sign  his  death-warrant.  Be- 
lieving thus,  we  have  turned  you  over  to  God,  and  feel  satis- 
fied that  there  is  a  sense  in  which  you  are  as  safe  in  battle  as 
you  are  in  bed.  But,  oh,  me  !  how  hard  it  is  for  human 
nature  to  rest  quietly  on  the  truth  of  this  proposition.  But 
we  will  try  to  do  it,  and  in  daily  prayer  commend  your  bodies 
and  souls  to  God.  There  is  a  moral  pestilence  frequently  rife 
in  camp-life,  which  is,  in  many  cases,  more  to  be  dreaded  than 
even  physical  pestilence  or  the  rage  of  battle.  But  we  must 
say,  relying  on  the  truth  of  God's  word,  that  our  troubles 
come  but  slightly  from  this  quarter.  You  have  been  trained 
in  the  way  you  ought  to  go,  and  you  will  not  depart  from  it 
in  the  manhood  of  your  days.  Shallow-minded  men  might 
seem  to  find  excuse  in  camp-life  for  loose  living,  but  sound- 
minded  men  will  find  increased  reason  for  watchfulness  and 
prayer,  and,  as  sure  as  you  live,  will  become  more  deeply  set 
in  their  pious  principles.  Depth  in  religious  soil  is  indis- 
pensable. Without  it  all  religious  signs  are  unreliable.  Es- 
pecially so  when  the  sun  rises  on  it  with  a  burning  heat. 
An  honest  and  a  good  heart  will  bear  good  fruit  anywhere, 
and  sometimes  much  fruit.  Much  fruit  is  the  test  of  hearty 
obedience.  Meagre  views  of  duty  and  of  piety  is  the  bane 
of  the  Church.  Large  and  commanding  edifices  cannot  be 
reared  upon  contracted  foundations.  I  hope  you  will  take 
broad  views  of  life  and  of  life's  high  and  holy  ends.  No  man 
will  ever  go  beyond  his  aims,  or  rise  above  his  plans  and  pur- 
poses. Intend  well  and  work  up  to  it  as  far  as  possible,  and 
even  then  there  will  be  room  for  holy  regret.  After  all,  you 
may  fall  in  battle  or  die  by  disease — be  always  ready.  We 
could  only  spare  you  for  Heaven.  Tell  Henry  he  must  con- 
sider himself  included  in  this  letter;  I  mean  it  for  both.  I 
am  too  nervous  to  write  to  both.  I  saw  Sallie  yesterday. 
Well,  and- bearing  up  well.  Claude  is  bravely  bearing  her 
cross.       As  to  the  war,  all  is  dark.       My  opinion  is  that  if 


442  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Piei  [Chap.  XV. 

England  and  France  acknowledge  our  independence,  it  will 
wind  up  this  fall  ;  if  not,  it  will  be  of  long  duration  and  oi 
tremendous  issues.  Oh,  may  a  merciful  providence  more  speed- 
ily work  on  all  hearts  in  favor  of  peace  !  I  can  but  fear  that 
there  is  more  wrath  than  there  is  judgment  in  this  war,  as  far 
as  God  is  directly  involved.  And  if  so,  the  end  is  far  away. 
I  am  morally  and  ministerially  led  to  doubt  whether  our  form 
of  government  ever  can  or  ever  will  subserve  the  purposes  of 
good  moral  government  in  the  South.  And  if  not,  then  God 
intends  its  overthrow  as  a  Democratic  government  in  as  far 
ta  evil  elements  are  combined  with  its  governmental  ob- 
jects. It  must  be  remodelled.  We  must  eliminate  many  ol 
it>  merely  popular  forms.  I  hope  no  one  in  whom  flows  any 
of  my  blood,  will  ever  be  a  Democrat.  A  sound,  sensible, 
strong  government  can  never  be  built  upon  democratic  soil. 
But  good-by.  We  may  never  meet  again,  very  likely  will 
not  But  let  us  well  and  faithfully  serve  the  Lord,  and  look 
joyful  meeting  in  Heaven.     I  cease  not  to  pray  for  you. 

"  May  God  have  you  in  his  good  keeping. 
"  1  am  yours  in  love, 

"  L.  I'ii  :  ■  i  ." 


From  Bishop  Pierce  to  Lovick. 

"July  29,  TSm. 

".  .  .  You  must  write  to  us  and  keep  us  posted.  If 
you  need  anything,  let  us  kn 

"  We  hear  that  you  will  all  go  to  Manassas.  Is  it 
Scott  will  not  try  it  again  soon,  in  my  opinion.  We  must 
whip  them  again.  In  the  next  battle  we  ought  to  keep  about 
ten  thousand  in  reserve,  well  rested  and  fresh,  to  pursue 
them.  They  have  made  their  best  fight.  We  rendered 
thanks  to  God  yesterday  for  our  victor}-.    Everybody  was  out. 

"  Mr.  Knox  will  finish  this  week.  I  long  for  silence. 
My  Missouri  brethren  write  me  not  to  come,  unless  the  Fed. 
eralists  are  whipped  out  before  the  time. 


1661-1865.]         iife  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  443 

"  Claudia  got  Henry's  letter  from  Goodson  on  yesterday. 
Do  write  often. 

"  We  have  had  a  good  many  visitors  to  see  the  crop. 
They  all  say  it  is  the  best  they  have  seen. 

"  We  all  think  of  you,  talk  about  you,  and  pray  for  you. 
Be  prudent,  brave,  and  steady  in  the  day  of  trial.  The  Fif- 
teenth Regiment  must  cover  itself  with  glory  as  with  a  gar- 
ment. May  Heaven  bring  this  war  to  a  speedy  end.  Amen 
and  amen  !  Love  from  all.  Claude  is  writing  to  Henry. 
Write,  WRITE,  WRITE.'' 

"  September  6,  1861. 

"  Thank  God  for  your  continued  health  in  the  midst  of 
surrounding  sickness.  Keep  clean,  eat  prudently,  take  as 
much  exercise  as  possible,  and  I  think  you  will  escape.  I 
trust  it  may  be  so. 

"We  are  getting  no  news  now.  The  papers  promise  us 
something  in  a  few  days  from  Manassas  and  from  West  Vir- 
ginia. We  are  waiting  with  anxiety  and  yet  with  confidence. 
It  seems  to  me  that  you  are  all  tardy  in  your  movements. 
Why  don't  you  take  Alexandria,  and  drive  '  Bomba's  herds 
of  hirelings  '  on  the  other  side  of  the  river.  They  wax 
stronger  while  you  delay.  Beauregard  keeps  his  own  coun- 
sel. Heaven  prosper  your  arms  whenever  you  do  march. 
Peace  is  '  in  futuro,'  I  fear,  far,  far  away.  England  and 
France  will  break  the  blockade  very  soon,  I  think.  The 
items  from  the  European  press  all  look  that  way.  My  visit 
to  Virginia  is  uncertain.     Can  I  get  to  the  camps? 

"  We  haved  saved  fodder  for  two  years,  I  think.  If  corn 
turns  out  as  we  expect,  we  shall  have  full  cribs.  The  cotton 
has  been  injured  very  much.  We  have  lost  from  ten  to 
twenty  bags.  We  are  picking  and  doing  well.  The  result  is 
doubtful.  The  ten  bags  I  think  certain.  Whether  my  twenty 
will  come,  I  know  not.  I  hope  the  Confederacy  will  survive 
the  failure.  Sallie  marched  home  yesterday  ;  she  looks  thin, 
but  says  she  has  gained  two  pounds. 

"  We  have  a  large  family.    Tom's  children  are  here,  my 


444  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.         [Chap.  XV. 

protegee,  Clara,  and  her  two  children,  Claude  and  Ann.     W 
have  no  lack  of  noise,  but  get  on  smoothly.     People  general- 
ly healthy.     Money   scarce,   very.       Write    often.      If   prayer 
avails,  you  will  live  to  get  back.     Love  from  all." 

"  October  15,  1861. 

'•  My  DEAR  Son  :  For  several  clays  I  have  not  written  to 
you.  So  many  of  the  family  have  written  that  I  stood  aside. 
Now  I  resume.  We  have  gathered  the  corn,  except  the 
Brantley  Field.  The  cribs  are  all  full  to  the  very  comb.  I 
think  we  have  made_//:v  hundred  barrels.  We  shall  not  ex- 
ceed fort\-  bales  of  cotton.  When  our  subscriptions  arc  paid 
there  will  be  nothing  left  for  division.  My  pecuniary  pros- 
pects arc  gloomy  enough.  But,  thank  God,  we  shall  have 
enough  to  eat.  This  is  the  first  time  I  ever  felt  what  is  called 
'hard  times.'  Failure  and  disappointment  seem  to  attend 
me.  Bass  has  sold  out  to  Frank  Riley.  Alexander  has 
bought  Brown's  place,  and  will  move  there,  so  that  my  only 
chances  to  sell  arc  gone,  and  with  them  my  ability/  to  pay 
my  deb:         [feel  shut  up.  depressed,  but  I  will  not  repine. 

:  has  been  good  t<>  me  and  mine,  and  I  will  'trust  him 
though  he  slay  me.' 

"  Y"ur  mother  and  Aunt  Clar.i   went  to  Greensboro' 
Saturday.     They  will  return  to-day.     Sallic  and  Fannie  P. 

here  with  Claude.  The  house  is  a  bedlam  for  noise.  We 
have  nine  children  here.  Imagine  the  racket  in  these  wide 
halls.     Hut  enough  of  home  and  me. 

"  At  present  I  see  no  end  of  the  war.  Lee's  failure  in 
West  Virginia,  the  unaccountable  delay  on  the  Potomac,  the 
possible  descent  on  our  coast,  with  other  things,  throw  dark 
shadows  <>n  the  future.  Amid  the  gathering  gloom  I  see  no 
light.  Oh,  '  when  shall  we  all  meet  again?  '  I  believe  God 
will  rescue  you  from  all  evil,  but  this  separation  is  growing 
painful.      I  feel  it  more  and  more.  ..... 

"  I  am  cut  off  from  all  my  Conferences  by  war  and  the 
lack  of  money.  If  you  cannot  come  home  this  winter,  I 
must,  God    willing,    come   to   see  you.      We   are   all    in    fine 


1861-1865.]         nfe  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  445 

health,  and  would  enjoy  ourselves  without  alloy  if  the  absent 
were  with  us.  We  will  hope  to  the  end.  Sallie  is  well  and 
seems  cheerful,  save  when  the  letters  fail.  We  all  send  love 
and  kisses.     God  bless  you  evermore." 


"  November  22,  1861. 

"  My  Dear  Son  :  It  is  raining  and  my  thoughts  turn 
sadly  to  your  exposure.  Heaven  keep  you.  The  war  thick- 
ens and  widens.  I  see  no  end.  If  England  submits  without 
complaint  to  the  recent  outrage  on  her  steamer,  I  shall  think 
her  out  and  out  against  us.  The  future  is  dark,  but  I  antici- 
pate a  glorious  issue.     God  speed  the  end. 

"The  colonel  and  I  are  making  arrangements  for  the 
next  year.  If  you  could  be  at  home  you  would  have  a  fine 
start  in  the  world.  We  will  try  to  fix  for  you.  The  colonel's 
overseer  will  take  charge  of  your  hands.  They  will  live  next 
year  at  Garey's,  by  the  saw-mill.  Indeed  that  place  is  a  part 
of  your  possession.  We  are  crowded  here  in  the  house  and 
out  of  it.  Your  mother  has  gone  to  Ella's  to-night.  I  am 
alone.  Claude  and  Sallie  will  come  up  with  her  to-morrow. 
Sallie  is  improving  in  health  and  looks.  We  all  love  her  for 
her  own  sake  as  well  as  yours.     Good-night." 

"  October  28,  1861. 
"  My  Dear  Son  :  If  you  get  all  the  letters  we  send  you, 
you  do  not  lack  for  reading  matter.  I  fear,  however,  that  you 
do  not  get  them  all.  In  my  last  I  gave  you  a  running  ac- 
count of  home,  the  crop,  the  prospects,  and  will  not  now 
repeat.  There  is  a  good  deal  of  sickness  in  the  country, 
among  the  blacks  chiefly.  As  a  family  we  are  mercifully 
spared.  I  thank  God  for  your  continued  health.  It  is  a 
great  mercy,  a  divine  blessing.  I  hope  you  feel  it  so  and 
render  praise  to  the  great  Preserver  of  men.  William  Sas- 
nett  reached  home  yesterday;  Ben  Alfriend  to-day.  In  the 
morning  I  marry  Dr.  Ham  Alfriend  and  Miss  Sallie  Watts. 
Such  is  life — funerals  and  marriages,  lights  and  shadows.     I 


41G  Lijc  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.        t<,|,AI'  xv 

think  the  campaign  in  Virginia  is  over  for  this  season.  You 
will  all  go  into  winter  quarters  soon.  You  have  had  the 
hardships  without  Hdt  glory  of  a  soldier.  Maybe  when  Con- 
gress meets  we  may  have  peace.  Evans  at  Leesburg  broke 
up  McClellan's  plan,  I  trow.  I  have  sent  you  my  blanket, 
you  will  remember  it  on  sight.  I  hope  you  will  find  it  a  com- 
Your  clothes  are  coming  too.  Do  let  us  know  if  you 
lack  anything  we  can  supply.  Sallie  is  improving  in  health. 
She  looks  better  than  I  have  seen  her  in  some  time.  Claude 
i-  in  fine  health.  Mollie  is  at  home.  She  has  not  been  well. 
The  Judge  and  family  keep  well.  We  have  no  news  of  interest. 
I  shall  sell  some  land  to<>ld  Hardy,  the  Brantley  Field,  some 
to  Alexander,  the  Grace  Swamp  and  the  land  adjoining,  about 
one  hundred  acres,  and  shall  let  John  Knight  have  thirty  or 
it   the  old  Grace  houses.     We  shall  have  a 

it  supply  of  pork   this    winter.      But   such   litters   of  pi 
you  never  sa  >ur  are  on  foot.  .... 

"  I  expect  to  -end  three  sous  and  their  progeny  down  to 

your  '  plantation,'  that  i  Where  youaretoget  bacon 

I   know  not.     The    colonel    mu.-t  that.      But   enough. 

B  '  -ure  to   write  by   Medlock.      Good  night.      Love   to  Hay- 

1  and  Henry.      Good  angels  guard  you." 

"  November  20,  1861. 

"  My  1)!..\k  SON  :  We  have  been  waiting  for  old  Hardy's 
return,  expecting  letters  by  him.  On  this  account  none  of  us 
have  written  to  you  for  several  days. 

"  The  tidings  of  your  continued  good  health  Ill's  me  with 
gratitude  and  love  to  God.  It  is  a  great  blessing.  I  ! 
no  doubt  you  are  thankful  for  it.  May  the  divine  goodness 
abide  with  you,  soul  and  body,  by  day  and  night.  Try,  my 
son,  to  live  near  to  God  by  faith  and  prayer.  Well,  you  wish 
to  hear  of  home  affairs.  I  have  sold  280  acres  of  land,  IOO  to 
Alexander.  130  to  Culver,  and  50  to  John  Knight— yielding 
me  $2, Sou.  So  far  so  good.  I  shall  sell  about  rive  hundred 
bushels  of  corn.  We  shall  make  between  forty  and  fifty  ba; 
cotton.      We  have  a  beautiful  lot  of  pigs — sixty  of  them — but 


COL.  THOS.    M.  TURNER. 


1861-1865.]         uje  ami  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  447 

shall  be  scarce  of  killing  hogs.  I  have  broken  the  colts  to  the 
buggy.  Starlight  is  one  of  the  finest  movers  I  ever  drew 
up  a  line  over.  They  are  both  very  gentle.  I  hitched  them 
up  without  blinds  and  drove  them  to  Sparta  the  first  time. 
The  other  day  I  drove  them  to  John's  and  back  in  four  hours. 
It  was  very  hot,  but  neither  of  them  drew  a  long  breath. 
Mossfoot  is,  however,  too  slow  for  Starlight.  She  is  not  lazy 
but  lacks  spirit.  I  am  trying  to  make  a  trade  for  a  little 
mare  to  work  with  Starlight.  I  shall  get  Tom's  horse  for  you. 
He  is  said  to  be  the  finest  saddle-horse  in  the  land — can  pace 
faster  than  he  can  run — works  finely  in  harness. 

"  The  colonel  has  got  a  place  for  you.  He  says  you  will 
have  one  of  the  best  places  in  the  county.  You  will  be  close 
to  Mount  Hope.  I  want  Henry  to  buy  the  Pease  and  Red- 
fearn  place  now,  and  then  you  will  all  be  together.  His  father 
and  I  will  help  him  buy  and  fix  you  all  in  a  family  circle.  How 
do  you  like  it  ?  Will  Henry  be  willing  ?  I  hope  so.  Well, 
now,  there  is  a  home  letter  for  you.  You  would  be  sorry  for 
your  mother,  and  me  too,  if  you  could  see  the  crowd  of  chil- 
dren here — nine  of  them.  I  sigh  sometimes  4  for  a  lodge  in 
some  vast  wilderness.'     We  must  stand  it. 

"When  you  get  back,  if  you  wish  for  children  we  can  give 
you  several  on  a  pinch. 

"The  war  drags  its  slow  length  along.  I  cannot  see  the 
end.  Another  victory  in  Missouri.  The  Port  Royal  affair 
was  no  great  things.  The  Yankees  gained  but  little.-  Oh 
that  you  and  Henry  could  come  home  Christmas  !  Good- 
night—  Heaven  bless  you.     Let  us  pray  for  each  other." 

In  December  the  Georgia  Conference  met  in  Atlanta,  and 
he  presided  ;  that  and  the  Florida  were  his  only  Confer- 
ences during  this  year.  He  could  not  get  to  the  West,  and 
remained  at  home  trying  to  make  bread.  It  was  a  trying 
Conference  ;  new  adjustments  must  be  made  to  changed  con- 
ditions. The  State  was  not  invaded,  but  the  Conference  had 
surrendered  up  many  of  its  members  to  the  ranks  and  to  the 
chaplaincies.  The  bishop  held  the  Conference  to  the  work 
of  a  Conference,  and  it  had  little  to  do  with  anything  else. 


448  Lift'  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.        [Chap.  xv. 

His  time  was  now  spent  almost  entirely  at  home,  attend- 
ing to  the  interests  of  his  absent  sons  and  to  the  farm,  lie 
had  his  hands  and  his  heart  full.  He  wrote  Lovick  every 
week,  and  among  his  letters  I  find  this  of  January  4th,  1862  : 

"  A  happy  New-Year  to  you — a  year  of  peace,  of  return 
to  home,  of  rest  from  camp-life  and  military  duty,  and  of  pros- 
perity in  your  vocation  as  a  farmer. 

"  We  are  settling  your  darkies  at  Garey's  place.  The 
colonel  bought  you  a  fine  mule.  I  give  you  two  and  have 
a  horse  in  reserve.  We  are  trying  to  exchange  Emily  for 
Cato's  wife  and  children.  Old  Mr.  Bryan  died  a  few  days  ago, 
and  the  negroes  are  to  be  divided  on  Monday  next.  I  know 
not  how  we  shall  come  out  trading.  We  shall  do  our  best 
fur  you.  Prospects  are  fair  for  a  good  outfit.  Plantation 
— at  least  six  good  hands,  a  cook,  stock,  and  provisions 
for  a  year,  and  all  without  debt.  Fair  is  it  not?  Oh,  if 
you  were  at  home  to  enjoy  it  all  !  Put  this  cannot  be  just 
yet  Your  mother,  Sallie,  uid  the  rest  were  greatly  disap- 
pointed that  you  could  n  •;  visit  us  Christmas  week.  I  was 
not     I  did  not  exp  o  soon.     Indeed  I  preferred  that 

you  should  come  in  February.  That  is  likely  to  be  the 
vercst  winter  month,  and  the  comforts  of  home  will  be  doubly 
acceptable  !  still  hope  to  effect  this  for  you  and  Henry.  I 
have  tried  the  brigadier.  I  will  try  the  colonel  and  the  cap- 
tain. Perhaps  I  may  succeed  by  force  of  importunity.  We 
shall  see.  I  am  overseeing  this  year.  A  great  change  has 
taken  place  in  the  face  <>f  the  farm   already.     You   will  see 

ie  improvements,  I  think,  when  you  come.  If  my  cotton 
were  well  sold  I  should  be  easy  for  a  time.  Prospects  are 
gloomy.  Lincoln,  as]  thought,  has  given  up  Mason  and  Slidell, 
and  thus  ma  with  England.     I  look  now  for  a  bloody 

war.  The  spring  will  open  with  battles.  Victory  may  give 
us  peace.  The  Lord  hasten  the  issue.  I  fear  some  of  our 
Southern,  cities  will  suffer.  I  have  been  remiss  about  writ- 
1  Never  in  my  life  have  I  been  so  pressed  with  busifl 

and  care.  To  pay  debts  now  requires  nice  financiering.  I 
am  doing  well  so  far,  but  fear  a  dead  stall  at   the  next  hill 


1861-18C5.]         Ufe  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  449 

— not  from  the  studs,  but  inability  to  pull  the  load.  I  wish 
you  were  here.  I  have  a  plan  by  which  you  could  help  me 
to  your  own  benefit.  All  send  love  by  the  carload.  We 
think  of  you  in  the  house  and  the  field,  at  the  table  and  in 
the  parlor,  at  the  fireside  and  the  mercy- seat.  Heaven  bless 
you  always." 

The  good  mother  wrote  to  the  absent  boy  on  February 
I5th. 

Letter  from  Mrs.  Bishop  Pierce  to  L.  Pierce,  Jr. 

"  February  15,  1862. 

"  My  Dear  Son  ;  Mr.  H.  Lewis  will  leave  in  the  morn- 
ing for  the  seat  of  war,  and  has  kindly  offered  to  take  letters 
to  you  for  us.  Two  long  weeks  have  elapsed  since  we  all 
gave  you  the  parting  kiss.  Oh,  how  many  hopes  and  fears 
have  flitted  across  my  mind  since  that  never-to-be-forgotten 
day.  It  is  useless  for  me  to  tell  you,  my  darling  son,  that 
your  mother's  heart  and  thoughts  are  always  with  you,  and 
my  breath  is  a  prayer  for  your  safety.  I  have  strong  faith 
to  believe  that  if  you  will  put  your  trust  in  God,  and  live  the 
life  of  a  Christian,  he  will  be  your  shield  and  help  in  the 
day  of  battle,  and  that  he  will  bring  you  in  safety  home  to 
those  who  love  you  dearer  than  life  itself. 

"  We  have  all  been  startled  and  alarmed  at  the  success  of 
our  enemies.  They  have  found  out  our  weak  points,  and 
have  taken  advantage  of  it.  They  have  taken  Fort  Henry  in 
Tennessee,  and  the  Fishing  Creek  victory  has  given  them  a 
new  impulse  to  rush  forward.  We  have  trusted  too  much  to 
an  arm  of  flesh,  and  not  in  the  living  God.  We  have  been 
too  self-reliant,  and  underrated  the  enemy  too  much.  These 
victories  may  open  the  eyes  of  our  officers  and  men,  and  may 
result  in  good  to  us.  But  the  enemy  is  full  of  the  rancor  of 
demons,  and  we  must  not  yield,  but  feel  that  our  cause  is  a 
righteous  one  and  that  God  will  smile  upon  us. 

"  We  are  all  getting  along  about  as  when  you  left,  and 
all  are  doing  well  at  your  plantation.      Your  father  and  I 
29 


450  Life  and  Tunes  of  George  F.  Pierce.         [tour,  :<\ 

called  there  last  week  on  our  way  to  John's.  The  old  woman 
had  sixteen  young  chickens.  I  told  her  she  beat  us  all.  She 
seemed  very  proud  <>f  them.  I  have  seen  Sallie  but  once 
since  you  left.  She  and  Claude  have  been  at  John's  almost 
all  the  time.      Your    father  ha-  -one  to  bring   Claude   home. 

here  no  chance  for  Henry  to  get  a  furlough?  Poor  fel- 
low, I  wish  he  could  come,  if  only  for  a  short  time.  His 
father's  family  are  all  well. 

"  I  must  close.  It  is  almost  night.  I  have  rheumatism 
so  badly  in  my  right  hand  that  I  can  scarcely  write.  Whit 
you  cannot  I  I  must  guess  at.      Your  father  will   write 

to-night.     Heaven  bless  you,  my  dear  son. 

•■  Your  fond  and  affectionate  mother, 

"  A.  M.  Pierce." 

••  February  26,  1862. 

"  Mv  Deaf  Your  mother  received  your  letter  yester- 

day. She  and  Sallie  have  made  up  a  box  of  things,  which  I 
hope  you  will  receive  and  relish.  Well,  the  game  deepens  and 
dark  trous.  We  have 

been  outgeneraled.  Our  men  fought  like  heroes,  but  num- 
bers prevailed.  1  almost  wish  I  had  the  management  for 
awhile.      I  think  I  1  way. out  of  the    gloom,  but  then 

no  motion  th.it  way  by  our  leader-.  Without  a  change  of 
policy  v  ;incd.     We    I  of   men    in   various 

placi  waiting  to  be  sacrificed.      Pulaski  will  soon  be 

taken,  and  I  fear  Savannah  will  follow.  We  are  lying  idle, 
permitting  the  enemy  to  make  his  own  arrangements  undis- 
turbed. Coil  after  coil  is  gathering  around  us,  and  we  n< 
strike  a  blow.  Verily  ours  is  a  defensive  policy  with  a  ven- 
geance. I  am  restless,  annoyed,  disturbed  at  the  way  things 
are  going.  Oh  for  a  Napoleon  to  arise,  not  to  reign,  but  to 
fight. 

"  We  had  a  county  meeting  on  Monday.  Stephens  and  I 
addressed  the  crowd,  and  if  you  had  heard  the   applause   and 

a  the  tcar<,  you  would  have  thought  every  man  was  pant- 
ing to  enlist ;  but  lo,  when  we  made  the  effort  only  fifty   men 


1861-1805]  nfe  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  451 

signed  the  roll.  The  recruiting  officers  are  doing  very  well. 
H.  Culver  has  but  nine  for  your  company.  On  Tuesday  next 
I  shall  try  them  again.  They  must  volunteer  or  be  drafted. 
Brown,  I  hear  to-day,  calls  for  thirty-two  regiments.  We 
must  win  a  great  battle  soon,  or  I  fear  the  consequences. 
Recognition  is  thrown  forward  indefinitely.  Heaven  help  us, 
for  vain  is  the  hope  of  help  from  Europe.  We  are  all  well. 
Rain  continues.  Not  much  doing.  The  plough  stands  still 
in  the  furrow.  The  lambs  multiply.  I  have  a  fine  lot  of  them. 
Starlight  has  been  doing  badly,  but  is  coming  to,  I  think. 
The  Commodore  improves.  Jenny  is  thin.  I  have  weaned 
her  colt  and  hope  she  will  now  fatten. 

"  The  Judge  talks  strongly  of  enlisting.  Deas  (his  over- 
seer) has  joined  the  new  company.  Lane  is  to  be  the  captain. 
The  old  men  are  stirred  up  and  talk  of  going  soon.  The  old 
colonel's  blood  is  up,  and  he  says  he  will  go  before  long. 

"  I  write  in  haste,  but  have  given  you  the  news.  I  am  not 

discouraged.     I  think  we  shall  triumph,  but  oh — the  blood— 

the  desolation.      God  pity  us.      Pray  much,  my  son,  live  near 

to  Christ.      God  bless  you.      Love  to  Henry." 

« 

"  February  28,    1862. 

"This  has  been  a  day  of  fasting  and  prayer.  The  people 
turned  out  at  Culverton  wonderfully  well.  I  hope  the  day 
has  been  universally  observed.  It  is  a  time  to  humble  our- 
selves and  to  call  upon  God,  for  vain  is  the  help  of  man.  It 
will  cost  us  blood  and  treasure  to  retrieve  what  we  have  lost. 

"  The  army  at  Manassas  is  now  the  hope  of  the  country ; 
if  you  fail  us  we  are  gone.  We  may  struggle  on,  but  it  will 
be  against  hope.  ........ 

"  I  see  no  end  now.  The  proportions  of  the  war  enlarge 
and  the  time  extends  far  into  the  future.  We  shall  wrestle 
long  and  die  hard,  if  die  we  must.  I  am  hoping  for  the  best. 
The  greatest  difficulty  in  my  way  is,  I  think,  our  policy  is 
wrong.  We  scatter  when  me  ought  to  concentrate.  We  are 
idle  when  we  ought  to  be  busy.  We  are  defending  in- 
significant points  when  we  had  better  save  our  men  for  great 


U>2  Life  and  Times  of  George  /'.  Pierce.         [Ohaf.  XV. 

battles.  We  cannot  defend  three  thousand  miles  of  coast  and 
occupy  little  islands  and  hold  creeks.  Let  the  enemy  land, 
enter  the  country  if  he .  will,  then  meet  him  with  an  army, 
whip  him  till  he  need  not  to  be  whipped  again.  Then  take 
right  after  another  and  keep  on.  .  .  .  We  deteriorate  in 
camp  but  improve  m  marching.  Rest  effeminates  us;  fight- 
ing makes  us  bold.  .  .  My  spirits  arc  oppressed  to- 
night.     I  go  up  to  Sparta  Tuesday  next  to  rouse  the  people." 

"  Martib  29,  1862. 

•'  Events  arc  rushing  to  a  crisis  east  and  west.  I  hope 
that  great  victories  on  our  side  will  bring  us  a  speedy  peace. 
If  we  retreat  a  few  more  times  the  war  will  last  for  years, 
unless  we  make  up  our  minds  to  submit.  This  the  people 
will  never  do.  ......... 

"  May  God  pp  >n,  from  sin  and  sickness, 

wounds  and  death.  The  time  of  trial  is  coming;  I  hope  the 
army  will  prove  itself  worthy  ofourhopesand  our  confidence. 
Tell   the   boys   that   determination   is  a  battle  half  won.       I 

and  victory  will  come.  Heaven  shield  you  and 
the  army.  Valor  and  heaven  are  our  only  hope.  We  must 
fight  to  the  bitter  end.  ....... 

"We  all  think  of  you,  talk-  about  you,  and  pray  for  you. 
Be  prudent,  brave,  and  steady  in  tin:  day  of  trial.  The 
Fifteenth  Regiment  must  cover  itself  with  glory  as  with  a 
garment.      May  heaven  bring  this  war  to  a  speedy  end. 

"The   tidings  of  your  continued  good  health  fills  me  with 
gratitude  and  love  to  God.      It  is  a  great  blessing.    I  have 
doubt   you   are   thankful    for  it.      May   the    divine    goodness 
abide  with  you,  soul  and  bod}-,  by  day  and  night.     Try,  my 
son,  to  live  near  to  God  by  faith  and  pra; 

"The  waste  of  life  is  sickening,  awful.  The  shadows  of 
the  w.ir  hang  heavy  on  the  land.  It  is  sad  to  travel  about 
and  mingle  with  the  people.  Verily  the  mourners  go  about 
the 

"  I  am  glad  you  arc  so  hopeful.  Keep  up  your  courage 
and  your  hopes." 


x86i-i865.]         [jfe  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  453 

"March  6,  1862. 

"  My  Dear  Son  :  Your  mother  and  I  have  just  returned 
from  Augusta.  Ann  we  left  with  your  Aunt  Julia,  to  go  to 
school.     This  plan  I  had  in  view  some  time. 

"  Sallie  came  out  to-day  ;  she  is  well.  She  requests  me 
to  say  that  the  colonel  adopted  the  arrangement  with  the 
negroes  in  order  to  let  your  land  rest.  I  never  interfere  with 
matters  below  for  obvious  reasons.  I  did  not  buy  the  land, 
and  you  are  not  yet  in  actual  possession.  Withal,  the  .colonel 
is  a  better  manager  than  I,  I  guess.  I  have  sold  the  cotton 
crop  for  five  thousand  dollars  ;  paid  up  your  loan  and  mine  to 
the  government.  This  is  the  best  sale  I  have  heard  of,  being 
about  twenty-nine  or  thirty  cents  per  pound.  I  sold  to  Mr. 
Gambrill.  The  sum  helps  me  along  in  paying  up  my  debts. 
I  thank  you  for  the  kind  proposition  you  made  in  your  last 
letter  to  me.  You  shall  lose  nothing  by  it.  I  paid  Piatt 
your  bill  for  furniture,  and  will  see  that  your  other  accounts 
are  paid.  I  am  getting  on  pretty  well  with  my  farm- 
ing operations.  Ten  days'  more  ploughing  will  bring  me 
up  to  corn-planting.  My  wheat,  is  fine,  and  I  hope  you 
will  eat  some  new  flour  with  us  in  June  next — a  disbanded 
soldier. 

"  So  far  we  are  doing  well  at  Savannah.  One  little  earth- 
work (dubbed  Fort  McAllister)  has  withstood  three  ironclads 
and  two  gunboats  for  forty-eight  hours,  without  material  in- 
jury or  the  loss  of  a  man.  What,  then,  will  the  fleet  accom- 
plish under  the  concentrated  fire  of  two  hundred  heavy  guns  at 
CJiarleston?  The  Lord  deliver  us  from  these  fleets  of  armies.  A 
failure  at  Charleston,  Savannah,  Vicksburg,  must  bring  peace, 
I  think.  We  are  looking  for  another  fight  in  Tennessee,  but 
Johnson  and  Bragg  are  said  to  be  ready.  I  am  very  sorry  to 
hear  of  Toombs'  resignation.  Du  Bose,  I  suppose,  is  with  you 
by  this  time.  I  appreciate  your  views  and  feelings  about  pro- 
motion. I  had  heard  that  your  advancement  was  certain,  by 
the  spontaneous  election  of  the  company.  But  men  are  not 
only  mistaken,  but  strangely  given  to  lying  and  to  selfishness. 
did  promise  to  give  you  an  appointment  as  drill  officer  in 


454  Lite  and  Times  of  George  F.  Puree.        tCaAI-  xv. 

one  of  the  camps  of  instruction  in  Georgia.  He  has  forgotten, 
like  the  rest,  or  given  the  place  to  some  more  brazen  appli- 
cant. You  have  a  good  conscience  and  a  good  name.  You 
have  not  degraded  yourself  by  trying  to  rise  unfairly.  Act 
well  your  part — there  all  the  honor  lies.  In  the  favor  of 
God,  my  son,  is  life.  Man  is  but  vanity  and  dust.  Thank 
ur  health  and  safety  and  fidelity  to  duty.  Ask  no 
favors,  and  shun  no  proper  responsibilities.  Heaven  bless 
you  witji  every  good  thing.      All  well,  and  all  send  love.*' 

••  Do  not  be  casl  down.     We  need  chastisement  to  rebuke 

our    conceit    and     vain- lory.        I     hope    to-night    we    are    an 
humbler  and  a  better  people. 

"  God   have  mercy  on  us.       I   am   troubled   becai^e   the 
unities  winch  ought  to   humble    US    seem  only  to  harden. 
Wickedness  incrc  is  -.  1  fear  ;  <  specially  profanity  and  drunk- 
enness.      We   are   a   guilty    people,    and  whether   there  are 
iteoilS   enough   to  save  US,  1    doubt.      When   the  count   is 
made  I  I  number  wiil  not  be  full.      lint    I  will  hope   to 

the  end.         ......... 

"  May  G "1  preserve  you,  bless  you,  and  r<  'U  to 

us  soon. 

•  The  crops  are  fine  all  over  the  country.  The  wheat  is 
wonderful  ;  recent  rains  are  improving  the  corn  ami  oats  and 
everything  ;  fields  and  gardens  are  smiling  in  beauty  and 
promise.  1  cannot  come  t  i  Virginia  before  July.  Sorry  for 
this,  but  I  am  raising  money  to  send  missionaries  to  the 
army.  Your  grandfather  is  going  to  Tennessee  to  spend  a 
month  with  Bragg's  army  I  am  trying  to  do  all  I  can  for 
Church  and  country.         ........ 

"  We  are  out  of  coffee,  Hour  and  candles,  hog  and  hom- 
iny,  now,  I  tell  you.  If  you  will  come  we  will  try  and  have 
one  feast.  Sallie  is  well,  looks  finely.  She  is  making  heavy 
sacrifices  for  the  country  with  a  cheerful  heart.  So  is  Claude. 
For  one,  I  am  getting  impatient.  I  pray  for  the  war  to  end, 
but  I  am  for  independence.  God  bless  and  keep  you  safe, 
my  dear  son. " 


IS61-1865.]         Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  455 

"  June  4,   1862. 

"  My  DEAR  Son  :  Again  the  opportunity  offers  of  get- 
ting a  letter  to  you  by  hand.  We  are  all  sad.  We  heard 
yesterday  of  the  battle,  and  of  the  killed  and  wounded.  Poor 
George  Lewis.  Oh,  this  war — how  many  hearts  lie  crushed 
under  the  iron  hoof.  I  suppose  you  were  not  in  the  engage- 
ment. I  am  thankful  for  the  exemption.  Your  continued 
health  is  the  subject  of  devout  gratitude.  I  feel  continually 
as  if  God  would  take  care  of  you.  While,  therefore,. I  have 
some  natural  anxiety — feel  some  suspense  as  to  results  in 
battle — nevertheless,  there  is  more  of  hope  than  fear,  and  in 
the  main  my  heart  rests  assured  of  your  safe  return.  Life, 
however,  is  always  uncertain,  and  it  behooves  you,  my  son, 
to  watch  unto  prayer.  Do  your  duty,  trust  God,  and  fear  no 
evil.  If  a  battle  occurs  and  if  you  are  engaged,  be  sure  to 
telegraph  me.  If  anything  serious  happens  to  you  or  Henry, 
I  will  come  on  immediately,  God  willing. 

"  Sallie  got  your  letter  yesterday.  She  is  well,  but  very 
anxious.  The  death  of  so  many  known  to  us  brings  the  war 
home  to  us.  We  are  looking  for  the  paper  this  morning 
with  great  solicitude.  It  rained  hard  yesterday  and  last 
night.  The  stage  is  behind.  It  has  just  passed,  and  I  will 
wait  before 'I  finish.  Alas  !  there  is  no  paper  this  morning. 
Such  is  life — expectation  and  disappointment. 

"  God  bless  you,  my  son,  with  life,  health,  and  peace 
— bless  you  in  soul  and  body,  forever  more.  Write  often.  We 
are  all  well.     Love  from  all." 

"  I  am  weary  of  the  war.  It  has  stagnated  everything — 
the  charm  and  zest  of  life  are  gone  for  the  present.  There  is 
a  drawback  on  everything.  We  miss  you  more  than  you  can 
know.  I  am  trying  every  sort  of  expedient  to  bear  up  and 
get  along.  Everything  drags.  The  future  is  so  uncertain  we 
cannot  plan  or  determine  anything  of  importance.  I  went 
to  Hamburg  yesterday  to  fish.  Had  a  fine  time — thought 
of  you  all  day.      Caught  a  fine  mess." 


45G  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Puree.         [Chap.  xv. 

"  June  23,   1862. 

"  My  Dear  Son  :    We  do  not  have   much   encour 

ment    to   write   to   each    other.      Our   letters,    at   least   tli 
which  come  to  hand,  arc  few  and  far  between.      When  I  have 
written,  however,  I  feel  better,  and  so,  I  reckon,  do  you.      My 
consolation  is,  that  frequent  letters  multiply  the  chances  that 
some  will  reach  their  destination. 

"  We  have  had  nearly  three  weeks  <>f  rain,  heavy  show- 
.  The  wheat-harvest  has  been  interrupted,  work  of  all  s< 
put  back,  and  t'.  tten  decided  advantage.     The 

fanners  are  all  ruined.  You  ought  to  hear  the  Judge,  poor 
fellow.  Wheat  not  cut,  corn  run  away  with  grass,  horses 
poor  and  broken  down,  and  so  on.  So  they  all  talk.  I  laugh 
at  them,  rebuke  them,  and  do  not  sec  the  ruin.  My  wheat 
is  line,  the  heaviest  crop  [  evei  It  has  been  in  all  the 

rain.  Yesterday  the  sun  shined  and  I  had  it  opened  and  ex- 
amined. I  do  not  think  two  bushels  are  damaged.  Tlx 
pie  are  frightened  without  can-'-,  or  have  been  careless  iii 
their  putting  it  up.  With  ten  days1  sunshine,  I  will  clear  tin 
corn.     Pro  ipect  ol  i  crop. 

is  doing  well.  Her  colt  grows  finely.  It  is 
like  her  in  color  and  marks  generally.  It  is  getting  gentle. 
It  was  like  its  dam  in  handling  at  first.  If  the  next  one 
matches  this  Arabia  will  not  beat  them. 

dlie  i-  improvin  la  and  the  children  are  well. 
We  still  tail.  nuel.  There  is  no  chance  to  buy  now. 
We  wait  the  end  of  the  war 

"  Keep  a  good  heart.  Take  care  of  your  health.  Live 
near  The  Lord  bless  you  always  in  all  thin;., 

I  have  not  felt  at  liberty  to  suppress  these  letters  :  they 
give  us  a  picture  of  the  man,  hopeful,  sanguine,  full  of  faith  in 
God  and  in  his  countrymen  ;  nor  do  I  feel  disposed  to  leave 
out  these  scraps  of  farm-life.  Starlight,  Mossfoot,  Beaure- 
gard, Ximrod,  are  pleasant  figures  on  this  canvas.  Some  of 
his  letters  give  us  an  insight  into  the  business-trials  which 
burdened  him.     He  was  never  extravagant,  but  was  generous 


i86i-i865.]         ufe  an(i  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  457 

and  free  in  his  gifts,  and  the  expense  incurred  in  settling  and 
improving  his  place,  in  educating  his  children,  and  in  helping 
the  needy  had  sadly  hampered  him.  Old  Dr.  Pierce  wrote 
Lovick  now  and  then,  and  we  have  a  letter  from  which  we 
give  an  extract. 

"  Oxford,  July  25,  1862. 
"My  Dear  Grandson:  I  am  in  Oxford  at  this  time, 
having  been  sick  for  some  days.  Your  father  left,  the  22d. 
Your  mother  and  Ella  are  in  Covington,  all  well.  You  can't 
realize  the  fearful  anxiety  we  all  felt  until  we  were  assured  of 
your  safety  after  the  late  battle.  But  God  has  mercifully 
spared  you.  It  may  be,  however,  that  it  is  only  that  you  may 
fight  again  and  then  fall.  Be  this  as  it  may,  still  trust  in  God  ; 
not  with  a  blind,  presumptuous  trust,  but  with  a  reverential 
reliance  upon  One  who  can  control  the  hissing  balls  of  innu- 
merable guns.  To  us  it  seems  impossible  that  balls  and  shells 
should  fly  as  thick  as  hail  through  lines  of  men  and  yet  so 
few  be  killed.  God  be  praised  that  he  has  brought  you  safe- 
ly through.  Try  to  feel  that  it  was  God  that  delivered  you. 
Too  much  in  this  direction  can  hardly  be  felt,  while  too  little 
is  our  constant  sin.  To  have  the  mind  always  imbued  with  a 
holy  recognition  of  God's  presence  is  a  spring  of  piety." 

"  August  14,  1862. 
"  My  Dear  Son:  I  went  to  Sparta  with  Sallie  this  morn- 
ing, and  there  learned  that  the  Colonel  would  send  Randall  to 
Clayton  to-morrow,  and  so  I  concluded  to  try  private  hands 
with  a  letter,  as  the  mails  are  so  uncertain.  Your  letters 
come  to  us  with  some  regularity,  but  not  as  frequent  as  we 
would  wish.  I  am  very  sorry  that  you  do  not  receive  ours.  We 
all  write,  you  may  rest  assured.  Let  us  hear  from  you  as  often 
as  possible.  We  need  letters  to  keep  our  spirits  up.  We  are 
all  thankful  for  your  health  and  safety.  God  is  good  to  us 
and  to  you.  May  we  render  to  him  according  to  the  bene- 
fits received.  Let  us  trust  in  him  at  all  times.  The  troubles 
of  the  times  ought  to  make  us  all  better.  May  our  trials  be 
sanctified  to  our  increase  of  faith  and  purity. 


458  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.        tCnA1'  x^ 

"  Well,  how  do  you  come  on  with  your  plans  for  promo- 
tion ?  I  went  over  to  Washington  to  see  Du  Bose ;  he  prom- 
ised to  help  you  out  in  your  hopes.  If  Toombs  resigns,  he 
will  be  afloat  too.  I  hope  something  will  turn  up  to  advan- 
Toombs  is  your  best  help  and  adviser,  if  he  remains. 
Give   him    my    kind    remembrance    and   tell   him  I   think   he 

lit  to  hold  on,  unless  he  will  consent  to  take  his  place  in 
the  Senate  again. 

"  We  have  had  a  week  of  the  hottest  weather  I  ever  felt,  I 
think — a  dead   calm,  tiie   air  hot,  the   sun   without   a  cloud. 

lay  the  wind  is  blowing,  and  we  begin  to  breathe  again. 

We  have  been  panting.     Ella  i^  not  very  well;  the  rest  are  all 

it.      We  are  pulling  fodder.       The  weather  is  line  for  cur- 

it.  We  are  planning  to  live  through  these  hard  times. 
Prospects  lair  for  food  and  raiment.      Luxuries  we  must  drop, 

'  ae  present. 

"  Now  for  your  affairs.  You  need  a  barn,  stables,  and 
-  >me  negro  hou  -bud.'      Wall  you   risk   my  judg- 

ment and  taste  in  location  and  arrangement  ?  Write,  and  say. 
Bibo  pr  '  i  make  a  larger  horse  than  Buckskin.      Beau- 

id  i^  a  whaje.  We  shall  sell  him  this  fall  or  next  spring 
for  $500,  perhaps.  I  do  not  like  large  horses.  I  am  over- 
stocked. I  wish  you  and  Henry  could  come  home  and  let  me 
thin  out.    It  will  help  the  crib  ;   my  crib,  you  understand." 

iiber  10,  1862. 
"  MY  DEAR  SON  :  God  be  praised  that  you  are  still  alive. 
( )h  that  we  may  all  feel  our  obligation  to  be  more  and 
more  devout  and  faithful.  I  am  thankful  on  your  account, 
intry,  and  for  even  the  dim  prospect  of  peace.  I 
am  tired  of  the  war,  its  anxieties,  its  perils,  its  waste  of  blood 
and  treasure.      Heaven  grant  us  a  speed}-  deliverance. 

"  1  am  very  unwell  to-night,  have  been  all  day,  but  hope 
»e  better  in  the  morning.      We   ire  having  very  fine  meet- 
ings now  at  old  Smyrna  and  Ruck  Mills.      I  have  been  about 
a  great  deal  lately,  and  am   rather  worn  down.     Little  Julia 
has   been  very   sick,  is  better  now,  and  I  trust  will  soon  be 


1861-1865.]         Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  459 

well.  Ella  is  very  thin  and  looks  feeble.  The  Judge  is  in 
statu  quo.  The  rest  of  the  family  are  in  health.  Sallie  has 
been  very  uneasy  about  you.  She  has  heard  by  others  of 
your  safety,  and  now  longs  for  a  letter.  It  is  late  at  night, 
and  I  cannot  give  you  a  long  letter.  You  must  write  every 
chance.  Can  you  not  arrange  to  telegraph  us  when  a  battle 
takes  place  ?  It  would  save  your  mother  and  Sallie  from 
many  a  heartache.  My  faith  is  strong  that  God  will  preserve 
you.  Indeed,  the  assurance  has  been  so  strong  that  I  have  not 
been  uneasy.  I  gave  you  to  God  when  you  were  born,  and  I 
think  he  accepted  and  will  preserve  the  gift.  I  trust  we  shall 
meet  ere  long,  and  see  many  happy  days  together.  Good-night. 
The  Lord  multiply  our  victories  till  our  foes  cry  for  quarter. 

"  I   hope   to   hear    from   you   in    the    morning.     Heaven 
shield  and  save  you,  and  restore  to  home  and  family." 

"  November  12,  1862. 
"You  complain  in  your  late  letter  of  us  all  not  writing. 
The  fault  is  not  ours.  It  rests  with  the  mails.  I  sympathize 
with  you  in  your  disappointments.  I  know  how  unpleasant 
they  are.  You  must  never  suspect  us  either  of  carelessness 
or  indifference.  We  all  have  you  in  our  hearts  and  on  our 
tongues  wellnigh  every  hour.  We  long  to  see  you,  but  fear 
we  must  wait  a  dreary  spell.  The  present  position  of  affairs 
baffles  all  calculation.  Some  are  hanging  their  hopes  on  the 
recent  elections  North.  I  am  not  of  that  crowd.  I  have  no 
more  confidence  in  Democrats  than  in  Republicans.  My 
only  hope  of  a  speedy  peace  is  in  the  defeat  of  the  North  on 
the  coast  this  winter.  If  you  can  defend  Charleston,  Savan- 
nah, and  Mobile  triumphantly  I  shall  look  for  an  armistice, 
recognition,  and  peace.  We  are  in  the  Lord's  hands,  and  I 
know  not  what  he  means  to  do  with  us.  In  many  respects 
the  prospects  before  us  are  dark.  We  have  wrought  won- 
ders, but  seem  to  have  gained  nothing.  The  war  is  without  a 
parallel  in  the  past,  as  to  its  origin,  its  battles,  its  progress, 
and  its  results  so  far.  I  hope  for  the  best,  but  I  am  looking 
to  God  alone — vain  is  the  help  of  man.     Your  clothes  are  all 


4G0  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.         [Chap.  XV. 

ready  and  I  hope  you  will  receive  them  soon.  Your  shoes 
will  be  down  to-morrow.  I  leave  in  the  morning  for  Missis- 
sippi Conference.  Hope  to  get  a  letter  from  you  before 
breakfast  S.illie  was  out  to-day.  She  is  well,  looks  finely. 
We  are  all  in  health.  We  are  housing  our  potatoes.  The 
crop  is  magnificent.  Yours  did  not  turn  out  so  well.  We 
all  have  corn  enough  and  hope  will  make  meat  to  do.  if  wt 
can  get  salt  to  save  it.  Many  good  things  we  shall  lack,  but 
can  get  along  if  the  Lord  deliver  us  from  our  foes.  I  have 
been  offered  $300  for  Starlight.  Shall  I  sell  ?  Buckskin 
promises  to  be  her  equal  in  spirit  and  speed.  Beauregard  is 
good  for  a  $1,000.  He  will  be  a  beauty  next  spring  when  he- 
shed-.  I  wish  you  could  see  him.  Try  to  get  home  this 
winter.      I  shall  be  back  about  the  1 2th  of  December." 

"  I  ><-,  imber  31,  1  • 
"  Strange   to  tell,  I    have    not    written    to   you    in   Q\ 

th.  I  have  been  to  the  Mississippi,  Alabama,  and  Georgia 
Conferences,  and  with  business  and  travelling  have  had  no 
time.     Since  I  returned  we  have  had  company  day  and  night. 

Withal,  1  have   been    waiting   for  someone   to   carry  a   letter. 

The   mails   are    so    unreliable   that    I  am  utterly  discouraged. 

tain  Arnold  leave  in  the  morning,  and  here  I 

am  writing.      In  this  long  interval   of  silence  I   have  thought 

of  yon  every  hour,   prayed  for  you  every  time  I  bowed  my 

knees,  and  never  loved  you  more,  if  so  much.      I  am  proud  of 

you,  for  I  hear  a  good    account    of   you   from  all   sides,  your 

our  fidelity,  your  valor.      1  thank  God  that  you 

have  been  delivered  so  often  and  so  long,  that  you  have  been 

spared   from  wounds  and  disease,  and  that  hardships  sit   so 

lightly  upon  you.     Let  us  praise  the  Lord  for  his  wonderful 

Well,   my  son,    I   think  the  brunt  of  the  war  is 

You  will  have  rest  ////  spring,  and  if  we  succeed  in  the 

W  ist,  as   it  seems  wre  shall,  you  have  fought  your  last  battle. 

The  signs  are  all  favorable  for  peace  next  year.      The  North 

i-  broken  down  in  hope  and  finance.     The  peace  party  will 

grow  in  numbers  and  courage,  divisions  at  home  will  weaken 


18G1-1865.]  afe  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  461 

the  Yankees  yet  more,  by  March  we  shall  have  an  armistice, 
and  then  negotiations  for  peace.  I  have  no  idea  of  recon- 
struction on  any  terms — either  the  old  constitution  or  the  new, 
theirs  or  ours.  Let  us  have  separation  and  independence. 
I  agree  with  you  in  your  estimate  of  Lee.  He  is  a 
great  man,  and  a  good  one,  I  judge.  Providence  has  fav- 
ored us  in  our  chiefs.  The  Virginia  army  has  been  specially 
fortunate.  Lee's  military  record  will  compare  well  with  the 
historic  captains  of  any  age  of  the  world.  I  hope  Fremont 
zvill  succeed  Burnside. 

"  If  so,  you  will  have  another  fight  on   this  side  of  Rich- 
mond, and  another  victory." 

Letter  from    Dr.   Pierce  to  L.  Pierce,  Jr. 

"  Sunshine,  October  13,  1862. 
"  My  DEAR  GRANDSON  :  You  see  I  am  here,  right  where 
we  all  wish  you  could  be  in  peace.  There  is  no  sunshine 
here  just  now,  for  after  a  dry  spell  we  have  had  tremendous 
rains,  flood-rains.  Last  week  we  were  carrying  on  a  pro- 
tracted meeting  at  Mount  Hope,  nooning  and  dining  at  your 
place,  furnishing  some  and  taking  some.  The  meeting  was 
a  glorious  success.  And  if  you  were  at  home,  you  and  John 
could  remould  the  present  generation  and  elevate  the  rising 
one  into  a  fine  class  of  Georgians.  I  have  seldom  seen  so 
good-looking  a  body  of  young  people  in  any  of  the  unculti- 
vated portions  of  society.  There  is  now  an  upward  growth 
in  the  young  people  about  there,  that  offers  fine  wages  for 
Sunday-school  and  Bible-class  professors.  This  is  a  part  of 
the  glorious  ministry  of  Christ  into  which  many  of  our  people 
are  divinely  called,  but,  because  they  do  not  feel  assured  of 
a  call  to  preach,  as  your  father  and  myself  felt  it,  they  un- 
wisely decline  teaching  the  Bible,  and,  of  course,  measurably 
decline  the  scholarly  study  of  it.  This  is  utterly  wrong. 
But  I  did  not  sit  down  to  write  an  essay.  I  only  intended  a 
letter  long  held  back  because  I  did  not  know  where  to  direct 
it,  and  even  now  it  is  uncertain.  You  can  but  faintly  realize 
the  anxious  care  we  all  feel  in  your  safety  during  these  fear- 


462  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.         [Chap,  w 

ful  battles,  and  the  grateful  joy  we  entertain  when  we  learn 
your  deliverance.  I  am  most  thankful  that  you  and  others 
found  it  in  your  hearts  to  formally  ascribe  your  preservation 
to  God.  Oh,  how  much  do  those  err  who  feel  only  as  if 
their  escape  was  mere  good  luck  !  How  barren  is  such  soil 
of  all  true  godliness.  George  was  wounded,  captured,  and 
parolled.  He  is  at  home,  we  judge — know  he  a.1,™, but  of  all 
further  particulars  we  are  ignorant,  save  only  that  his  father 
wrote  that  he  did  not  think  his  hand  would  be  materially  in- 
jured. Oh,  how  I  long  to  see  him,  but  fear  I  shall  not.  This 
wasteful,  wicked  war  I  now  fear  is  on  us  for  a  long  time.  Our 
victories  are  but  victories,  dearly  bought  victories  at  that.  We 
gain  not  a  thing,  in  as  far  as  conquering  a  peace  is  concerned, 
except  it  is  gained  in  the  way  of  exhaustion.  In  everything 
but  in  fighting,  ultimate  chances  are  decidedly  in  their  favor. 
If  their  plans  against  the  Southern  Coast  are  successful  to  any 
considerable  extent,  our  case  is  one  of  doubtful  issue.  I  am  not 
a  croaker  nor  a  subn  but  1   im  a  prayerful  looker-on. 

I  draw  ray  hopes  an  b  >th  from  parallel  cases,  in  refer- 

ence >'s  in  which  Jehovah  God  was  re- 

iling  himself  in  his  governmental  relations  to  nations  upon 
whom   he   had    b  I   his  lively  oracles.      There   is  a  very 

natural  liken  tween  us  and  the  ancient  Jews,  in  as  far  as 

the  directness  of  our  refusal  to  walk  by  the  oracles  of  God  is 
involved.  And  though  many  great  men  will  make  no  ac- 
count of  these  difficulties,  as  deficiencies  in  our  national  organ- 
ism, I  am  by  no  means  certain  but  that  the  providential 
causes  in  this  war  may  be  on  this  very  account.  And  if  so, 
it  will  be  prolonged  until  the  elemental  leaven  necessary  to 
make  it  a  theocratic  national  government  is  well  infused  into 
the  national  mind  and  will.  It  is  spreading.  But  theocratic 
principles  in  government  cannot  coexist  with  democratic 
ones,  and  democracy  will  die  slow  and  hard. 

"  Commit  yourself  to  God,  for  he  is  a  faithful  creator,  and 
don't  believe  for  a  moment  that  you  cannot  be  a  consistent 
Christian  in  an  army.  We  are  all  well.  Love  to  Henry,  if 
he  is  with  you.     Heaven  keep  you.  "  L.  Pierce.'' 


1861-1865.]  Life  anci-  Jimes  of  George  F.  Pierce.  463 

The  Bishop  presided  over  the  Mississippi  Conference, 
which  met  in  Jackson,  and  the  Alabama,  which  met  in  Auburn, 
but  hurried  home,  where  his  presence  was  in  such  demand. 
During  the  year  1S62  he  preached  almost  every  Sunday.  He 
made  an  excursion  to  the  mountains  and  preached  at  the 
Lumpkin  Camp  ground  three  times,  and  at  the  country  church 
near  him,  Mount  Hope,  and  Rock  Mills.  At  each  he  preached 
every  day  for  more  than  a  week.  He  loved  to  search  out  the 
obscure  places,  and  preach  the  Gospel  to  the  poor.  He  was 
still  hopeful.  Every  ray  of  light  was  hailed  with  joy.  The 
South  could  not,  would  not  fail,  he  wrote  Lovick  on  March 
23d. 

"  March  23,  1863. 

"I  have  nothing  special  to  say,  but  an  opportunity  offers 
of  sending  a  letter,  so  I  write. 

"  Your  Uncle  Tom  is  married,  and  seems  very  happy 
with  his  bride.  The  children  are  behaving  well.  I  trust 
they  will  all  be  happy.  I  go  up  to  see  them  next  week — 
have  an  appointment  in  Rome.  Your  grandfather  is  quite 
sick,  but  is  getting  better  I  hear  to-day.  John  and  Ella  left 
us  this  morning  for  Eureka.  We  are  all  well  and  stirring 
about.  I  commenced  planting  corn  to-day.  I  am  a  little 
behind,  because  I  have  been  trying  to  prepare  better  than 
usual.  I  hope  to  make  a  heavy  crop,  by  the  Divine  blessing. 
The  country  needs  a  larger  supply.  Prices  are  enormous, 
and  they  grow  like  crop  grass.  My  heart  is  sick  of  the  greed 
of  gain.  The  current  is  sweeping  everybody  away.  Saint 
and  sinner  are  rivals  in  the  struggle.  God  help  the  poor. 
We  are  doing  without  many  things,  or  at  least  are  on  short 
allowance.  What  we  are  to  do  for  shoes  and  headgear  I 
know  not.  If  the  wheat  yields  as  it  promises,  we  shall  have 
enough  to  eat,  thank  God.  Self-denial  is  the  order  of  the  day 
with  us.  You  soldiers  are  not  alone  in  your  hardships.  We 
are  paying  a  heavy  price  for  independence,  but  the  boon  is 
worth  the  tax.  We  must  all  learn  patience.  Fruit  is  best 
when  it  is  ripe.  We  must  not  seize  and  devour  it  while 
green.      Peace  will  come  at  the  right  time.      I  think  the  day 


4G4  Life  and  Times  of  George  /•'.  Pierce.        [Oba*.  xv. 

is  not  distant.  If  reason  does  not  return  to  the  Northern 
mind,  empty  pockets,  broken  spirits  will  bring  them  to  terms. 
My  hopes  bound  forward  and  antedate  the  day.  Some- 
times I  fear  because  of  the  sins  of  the  people,  yet  in  the  main 
I  am  cheerful  in  the  prospect  ahead, 

"  I  go  to  Milledgeville  to  preach  on  Friday  (fast-day). 
The  Legislature  meets  on  Wednesday.  Brown  has  called 
them  together  to  stop  the  distillation  of  grain,  and  to  limit 
cotton-planting.  A  very  good  move,  I  think.  Your  folks 
were  all  well  yesterday.  Sallie  is  in  good  health,  and  bears 
her  lot  like  a  heroine.  I  preached  in  Sparta  yesterday,  and 
made  an  effort  to  build  a  new  church — raised  f",ooo.  Sev- 
eral strong  members  were  absent.  I  think  we  shall  succeed. 
We  need  a  new  house  very  much.      This  running  letter  is  not 

rth  much  except  as  news  from  home.  Write  me  all  the 
news  in  camp.  1  low  do  you  come  on  rising?  Any  pros- 
pect of  your  succeeding  Toomb  !  1  th  it-major 
content  with  his  position?  Write,  write,  write  The  Lord 
•i,  and  cause  his  face   to  shine    upon  you.      All   send 

love 

He  went  to  Milledgeville  and  preached  a  sermon  before  the 

legislature.  Dr.  B.  M.  Palmer,  the  distinguished  Presbyte- 
rian, preached  in  the  morning  and  afternoon.  I  publish  full 
•i  this  remarkable  sermon,  just  as  they  came  from 
his  lips.  In  doing  this  I  am  aware  I  shall  bring  upon  myself 
censure  from  some  of  his  friends,  as  well  as  from  those  who 
have  neither  sympathy  with  the  views  expressed  nor  special 
regard  for  the  man.  I  was  disposed  to  exercise  what  I  thought 
to  be  my  right,  and  leave  out  of  the  biography  those  very 
severe  passages  which  are  directed  against  those  with  whom 
the  Confederacy  was  at  war  ;  but  consultation  with  leading 
men  of  all  parties,  and  my  own  cooler  thoughts,  have  led  me 
to  the  conclusion  I  have  no  such  right.  The  sermon  is  in 
the  archives  of  the  State.  The  views  expressed  were  honestly 
entertained,  the  really  harsh  things  said  he  firmly  believed  to 
be  true.  He  never  withdrew  them,  never  apologized  for  them. 
He  had  no  personal  resentments  against  individuals,  no  feel- 


1861-1865.]         [jfe  and  Jimes  of  George  F.  Pierce.  465 

ing  of  hostility  to  persons.  He  was  ready,  as  soon  as  the 
war  ended,  to  strike  hands  with  any  man  from  beyond  the 
line  who  was  willing  to  be  friendly  ;  but  it  was  only  on  condi- 
tion that  no  apologies  were  asked  for,  as  none  were  required 
by  him.  He  recognized  the  Christian  duty  of  forgiveness, 
and  the  folly  of  faction,  and  was  ready  from  the  day  the 
flag  went  down  for  peace,  on  all  terms  of  honorable  adjust- 
ment ;  but  to  demand  that  he  should  justify  what  he  con- 
demned, and  applaud  where  he  had  censured  as  a  ground  of 
friendship,  to  this  he  would  not,  and  never  did  yield.  The 
sermon  was  preached  March  27,  1863. 

Sermon   of   Bishop    Pierce  before  the  General  Assembly   of 
Georgia,  March  27,   1863. 

"  Keep  therefore  and  do  them  :  for  this  is  your  wisdom  and  your 
understanding  in  the  sight  of  the  nations,  which  shall  hear  all  these  stat- 
utes and  say,  Surely  this  great  nation  is  a  wise  and  understanding  peo- 
ple. For  what  nation  is  there  so  great,-  who  hath  God  so  nigh  untq 
them,  as  the  Lord  our  God  is  in  all  things  that  we  call  upon  him  for? 
And  what  nation  is  there  so  great,  that  hath  statutes  and  judg- 
ments so  righteous  as  all  this  law  which  I  set  before  you  this  day  ?  " 
— Deuteronomy  iv.  6,  7,  8. 

"  As  a  citizen  of  the  Confederacy,  interested  in  common 
with  others  in  its  deliverance  from  our  enemies — in  the  early 
and  permanent  establishment  of  peace — as  a  Christian  fully 
persuaded  that  there  is  an  overruling  Providence  in  the  af- 
fairs of  nations  as  well  as  of  men,  I  rejoice  that  our  Chief 
Magistrate,  in  all  the  great  crises  of  the  country,  summons  the 
people,  one  and  all,  to  fasting,  humiliation,  and  prayer.  I 
am  especially  glad  that  he  does  this,  not  as  a  courteous  con- 
cession to  what  he  regards  a  popular  superstition,  but  from 
honest  convictions  of  religious  duty  and  official  responsibil- 
ity. The  tone,  language,  sentiments  of  all  his  proclamations 
on  these  occasions  demonstrate  that  he  unfeignedly  recog- 
nizes his,  our,  and  the  dependence  of  the  people  on  God, 
and  believes  that  cordial,  earnest,  united  supplication  will 
secure  the  divine  blessing  upon  our  arms  and  upon  the 
30 


L66  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.        [Chap.  XV. 

administration  of  the  Government.  This  idea,  I  trust,  is 
common  among  all  the  people.  Once  dormant,  it  has  been 
roused,  vivified,  made  practical,  and  though  doubted  and 
even  denied  by  some,  its  truth  has  been  enthroned  by  re- 
ited,  signal,  almost  marvellous,  interpositions  in  our  be- 
half. The  coincidence  of  these  interventions  with  the 
prayer  of  the  people  have  left  no  room  for  doubt,  and  have 
wrung  from  profane,  even  skeptical  lips,  the  confession, 
G  I  1  n  th,  and  God  is  for  us  and  with  us.  Founding 
my  opinion  upon  the  historic  records  of  the  Old  Testament, 
I  cannot  doubt  but  that  these  official  acts,  piously  performed 
by  the  power-;  that  be,  and  reverently  acknowledged  by  the 
people,  bring  our  country  with  all  its  great  interests  into 
peculiar  covenant  relations  with  God,  and  enlist  in  our  de- 
fence the  resources  which  God  alone  can  command.  This 
conclusion  is  justified  not  only  by  main-  examples  in  the 
history  of  the  kings  of  Israel  and  Judah,  and  by  the  general 
promises  of  the  Bible  to  penitence  and  prayer,  but  by  all  the 
facts  and  circumstances  which  characterize  this  revolution. 

This  w.  king.     We  labored  to  avoid  it.     Our 

pro;  r  amicable  adjustment  were  rejected  with  sub- 

tlety and  guile.  We  claimed  only  our  own.  We  asked  noth- 
ing of  our  enemies,  We  do  not  seek  their  land,  or  houses, 
not  fighting  to  extend  our  territory, 
neighboring  people,  to  usurp  dominion,  to  grat- 
ify ambition,  or  malice,  or  revenge.  Faithful  to  the  letter 
and  the  spirit  of  the  old  Constitutien — asserting  only  the 
fundamental  right  of  self-government,  we  arc  but  defending 
ourselves  against  a  proud,  rapacious,  malignant  foe,  who, 
without  right  or  reason,  against  law  and  right  and  humanity, 
comes  down  full  >^f  hate  and  rage  to  enslave  or  exterminate 
us.  We  are  fighting  for  liberty  and  home  and  family;  for 
firesides  and  fields  and  altars  ;  for  all  that  is  dear  to  the 
brave  or  precious  to  the  good  ;  for  our  herds  and  our  flocks, 
our  men-servants  and  maid-servants  ;  for  the  heritage  of  our 
fathers  and  the  rights  of  our  children  ;  for  the  honor  of  hu- 
manity and  the  institutions  of  Providence.      We  are  fighting 


1861-4865.]         iije  ami  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  467 

against  robbery  and  lust  and  rapine  ;  against  ruthless  inva- 
sion, a  treacherous  despotism,  the  blight  of  its  own  land,  and 
the  scorn  of  the  world  ;  mongrel  armies  whose  bond  of  union 
is  plunder,  and  whose  watchwords  are  but  delusion  and 
falsehood  ;  a  fraud  upon  the  African,  a  lie  to  the  North,  and 
an  insult  to  the  South.  There  is  therefore  no  object  proposed 
by  our  Government,  no  end  aimed  at*  on  which  we  may  not 
consistently,  piously,  scripturally,  invoke  the  Divine  blessing. 
We  may  pray  '  according  to  the  will  of  God.'  The  triumph 
of  our  arms  is  the  triumph  of  right  and  truth  and  justice. 
The  defeat  of  our  enemies  is  the  defeat  of  wrong  and  malice 
and  outrage.  Our  Confederacy  has  committed  herself  to  no 
iniquitous  policy,  no  unholy  alliances,  no  unwarrantable 
plans  either  for  defence  or  retaliation,  and  noza,  with  numer- 
ous hostile  hosts  quartered  on  her  soil,  and  a  powerful  navy 
beleaguering  her  coast,  amid  provocations  innumerable,  un- 
der threatenings  the  most  diabolical,  without  fear  of  the  fut- 
ure, ready  for  the  conflict  if  our  deluded,  infatuated  enemies 
urge  it  on  her,  she  is  ready  to  make  peace  on  just  and  honor- 
able terms.  In  praying  for  such  a  government  I  feel  that 
the  way  to  the  mercy-seat  is  open.  My  faith  is  unembar- 
rassed. My  hope  is  buoyant.  I  feel  that  I  have  access  to 
Him  who  rules  in  righteousness.  The  attitude  of  our  coun- 
try is  sublime.  With  her  foot  planted  on  right  and  her  trust 
in  God,  undismayed  by  numbers  and  armaments  and  navies, 
without  the  sympathy  of  the  world,  shut  in,  cut  off,  alone, 
she  has  battled  through  two  long,  weary  years,  gallantly,  he- 
roically, triumphantly,  and  to-day  is  stronger  in  men,  re- 
sources, faith,  and  hope,  than  when  Fort  Sumter's  proud  flag 
was  lowered  to  her  maiden  arms.  It  is  the  Lord's  doings, 
and  it  is  marvellous  in  our  eyes.  Standing,  then,  upon  the 
justice  of  our  cause  and  the  righteousness  of  our  aim,  and 
encouraged  by  the  experience  of  the  past,  let  us  lift  up  hum- 
ble, thankful  hearts  to  the  God  of  all  our  mercies,  and  with 
emboldened  faith  commit  our  destiny  into  his  hand,  whom 
winds  and  seas  obey,  who  ruleth  in  the  armies  of  heaven  and 
among  the  inhabitants  of  earth.  ..... 


4GS  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.         [Chap,  xv 

"  Our  religion  has  never  resolved  itself  into  conventional 
fallacies — into  a  geographical  conscience,  and  erected  the 
fancied  rights  of  any  people  into  '  a  higher  law'  than  divine 
revelation.  With  us,  thank  God,  the  Bible  has  been  a  mount 
that  burned  with  fire,  which  no  man  dared  to  touch.  The 
voice  issuing  from  its  Stnoke  and  tempest  lias  been  recognized 
as  the  voice  of  the  great  Jehovah,  and  the  handwriting  of 
the  Almighty  Oil  the  granite  edition  of  the  law,  the  standard 
of  morals  and  the  basis  of  right,  and  the  authority  from 
which  there  is  n<>  appeal.  These  are  facts  of  hopeful  signi- 
ficancy,  when  we  remember  that  God's  government  of  the 
world  all  look-  to  the  fortunes  of  Christianity.  The  dominion 
of  Christ  is  to  be  universal-  from  sea  t<>  sea.  In  the  divine 
plan  political  ch  tmmercial  interests,  forms  of  govern- 

ment are   secondary  considerations,    mere   instruments   to   an 

end — that  end  the  glory  of  God  in  the  triumph  of  truth.     If 
men  set  themselves  in  array  against  the  truth  of  God,  either 

by    subtle    lo;.;ic   or    open    violence,    they   will    be   broken   in 
pie<  with   a   rod   of  iron.      If  a  nation, 

in  its  conceit  of  wisdom  and  its  impudence  of  pretension, 
determines  what  God  ought  to  will  and  say  ami  do,  and 
overrides  his  institutes  by  their  <>wn  speculations,  and  with 
unanointed  hands  touches  the  holy  ark,  the  doom  of  U/./.ah 
will  be  their  historic  epitaph.  If  a  people  give  themselves 
up  to  infidelity,  erect  their  reason  into  a  counsellor  of  the 
Almighty,  and  make  a  majority  vote  higher  authority  in 
morals  as  well  as  politics  than  the  Constitution  of  the  land 
and  the  Hook  of  heaven,  be  sure  that  signal  punishment 
upon  the  heels  of  their  blasphemous  folly.  All 
this  our  Northern  enemies  have  done.  Wise  above  what  is 
written,  they  have  mistaken  sedition  for  liberty,  cant  f<  >r  piety  ; 
loud-mouthed  champions  for  the  freedom  of  the  black  man, 
they  have  trampled  in  the  dust  the  most  sacred  rights  of 
their  own  people  ;  with  peace  upon  their  tongues  they  have 
brought  on  and  keep  up  a  gigantic  war.  Swollen  with  vanity, 
they  despise  the  lessons  of  the  past  ;  confident  in  pride  and 
power  of  numbers  the)'  arc   tearing  down  their  own  govern- 


1 361-1865.]         Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  469 

ment  with  the  hope  of  destroying  us,  and  every  step  of  their 
progress  is  marked  with  aggression,  perfidy,  and  blood. 
Resistance  to  such  a  people  is  obedience  to  God.  Whether, 
therefore,  we  pray  for  our  country  or  against  our  enemies, 
we  are  praying  in  harmony  with  the  plans  of  Providence  and 
the  moral  interests  of  mankind.  ..... 

"  On  the  other  hand,  the  negro  among  us  is  an  object  of 
respect,  affection,  and  kindness,  in  every  stage  and  condition 
of  his  being.  His  religious  culture  is  generally  (would  to 
God  I  could  say  universally)  provided  for  ;  and  find  the  negro 
where  you  will,  in  the  wilds  of  Africa,  in  the  cities  where  he 
is  nominally  free,  in  all  that  constitutes  a  rational,  respectable 
manhood,  the  Southern  slave  is  the  highest  type  of  his  race. 
Whatever  abuses  may  have  crept  in,  and  whatever  neglect 
may  be  chargeable  upon  us,  if  we  compare  results,  slavery 
has  shown  itself  to  be  a  great  missionary  institution.  The 
Southern  churches  count  more  converts  among  these 
descendants  of  Ham  than  the  united  efforts  of  Christendom 
have  gathered  upon  all  the  mission  fields  of  the  heathen 
world.  Even  in  Africa  itself,  the  most  intelligent,  civilized 
and  prosperous  community  is  composed  of  those  who  were 
trained  to  knowledge,  faith,  and  virtue  under  the  humanizing, 
elevating  influence  of  slavery  in  these  Southern  States.  The 
depositories  of  a  high  and  holy  trust  in  the  plans  of  Providence, 
it  is  a  debt  we  owe  to  heaven  to  resist  unto  death  the  mad 
schemes  of  our  enemies — schemes  which  imply  a  blasphemous 
impeachment  of  the  divine  administration,  and  are  fraught 
with  unutterable  woes  to  the  beneficiaries  of  our  guardianship. 

"  The  object  of  all  these  remarks  is  not  to  promote  pride, 
but  to  encourage  faith — not  to  hide  our  sins  by  magnifying 
the  sins  of  our  enemies,  but  to  inspire  hope  in  our  struggle, 
its  progress,  and  its  issues.  Assembled  as  we  are  to  make 
supplication  to  God,  it  seemed  to  me  appropriate  to  show,  by 
the  previous  running  outline  of  facts,  that  we  may  approach 
the  mercy-seat  with  Christian  liberty,  and  scripturally  look  for 
the  divine  blessing  in  victory  to  our  arms  and  deliverance  to 
our  country.  ........ 


470  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.        [Chap.  xv. 

"  On  this  fast  clay  I  give  you  notice,  my  countrymen,  that 
if  there  be  any  upas-tree  growing  in  the  circumference  of  our 
land,  planted  by  authority,  nurtured  by  public  admiration,  we 
need  not  think  to  destroy  its  pestiferous  virus  by  gathering  its 
foliage,  or  lopping  its  branches,  albeit  we   Leave   nothing  but 

..iked  trunk,  for  through  '  the  scent  of  water,  it  will  bud 
and  bring  forth  boughs  like  a  plant.'  If  we  would  breathe 
wholesome  air  and  live  unpoisoned,  we  must  cut  down  the 
tree  and  dig  up  the  roots  and  bind  them  all  in  bundles  to  be 
burned. 

"  To  bring  our  country  into  the  covert  of  God's  protect- 
ing power,  it  is  not  absolutely  necessary,  however  desirable, 
that  every  individual  should  adjust  his  moral  relations  on  the 
basis  of  the  Gospel.  Hence,  while  I  mourn  the  sins  which 
abound  on  every  side,  I  shall  feel  safe  if  our  rulers  fear  God 
and  honor  \\\>  Sabbaths;  if  our  representative  bodies  legisl 
in  harmony  with  the  divine  law  ;   if  our  judiciary  admini 

tice,  a  tenor  to  evil-doers,  and  a  praise  to  them  that  do 

In  a  word,  plant  the  government  on  the  Bible,  talk  less 
of  the  rights  of  the  people  and  more  about  the  rights  of  God, 
extirpate  the  political  heresies  which  have  demoralized  •  ociety, 
abolish   pari}-    tactics,  and  let   all  the  ends  we  aim  at  be  God 
and  country  and  truth  ;   then    '  God  will   be    nigh   unto  us  in 
all  we  call  upon  him  for.' 

"  By  our  -  from  the  Union  and  the  inauguration 

i  new  government  we  have  put  ourselves  in  position,  if  we 
are  wise  and  have  a  heart  for  the  work,  to   amend    what  was 
fault)-  and  to  incorporate  not  only  new  safeguards  against  the 
abuse  of  power,  but  principles  conservative  of  law,  order,  and 
morals.      Conceiving  this  to  be  a  good  time,  while  the   public 
mind  is  loosened  from  old  ideas  and  broken  up  by  the  plough- 
war,  for  casting  abroad  the  seeds  of  truth,  I  avail  my- 
self of   the  occasion    to  make,    as    I    believe,    an    important 
suggestion.  ......  .  . 

"  I  do  not  desire  to  see  the  Church,  my  own  or  any  other, 
iblished  by  the  State  ;  I  do  not  desire  that  the  State  sh 
adopt  and  publish  a  creed  and  command  everybody  to  believe 


1861-1865.]  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  471 

it ;  I  ask  for  no  inquisitions  into  any  man's  private  opinions 
or  practices  ;  I  want  no  tests  or  oaths.  But  I  do  believe  that, 
in  the  organic  law,  God  should  be  acknowledged  in  his  being, 
perfections,  providence,  and  empire  ;  not  as  the  first  great 
cause  simply,  that  is  philosophy  ;  not  as  the  universal  father 
of  a  world  of  dependent  creatures,  that  is  poetry,  senti- 
mentalism,  and  may  be  nothing  more — but  as  the  God  of  the 
Bible,  Maker,  Preserver,  Governor,  Redeemer,  Judge,  Father, 
Son,  and  Holy  Ghost.  The  theocracy  of  the  Jews,  though 
not  prescribed  as  a  model  for  the  nations  of  the  earth,  was 
intended  to  be  the  type,  in  substance  if  not  in  form,  of  all 
righteous  government.  In  the  progress  of  civilization  and 
religion,  as  the  world  approaches  the  grand  prophetic  period 
when  '  truth  shall  spring  out  of  the  earth  and  righteousness 
shall  look  down  from  heaven,'  the  governments  of  earth  will 
all  be  assimilated  to  this  pattern.  In  confirmation  of  this  idea, 
it  is  already  true  that  the  best  portions  of  the  civil  codes  of 
all  the  nations  of  Asia  and  Europe,  both  ancient  and  modern, 
were  borrowed  from  the  Mosaic  laws.  It  is  equally  true  of 
ourselves.  The  Constitution  of  the  Confederate  States  of 
America  has  taken  one  step  in  the  right  direction,  but  does 
not  go  far  enough.  In  its  appeal  to  Almighty  God,  it  uses 
the  language  of  deism,  or  natural  religion,  rather  than  of 
Christianity.  It  does  not  honor  God  as  he  reveals  himself  in 
those  relations  which  concern  us  most,  and  by  which  the 
divine  glory  is  most  illustriously  declared.  Believing,  as  I 
do,  that  God  has  committed  to  us  the  christianization  of  the 
African  race,  it  is  specially  harmonious  with  this  high  and 
holy  trust  that  we  invoke  and  secure  the  divine  favor  by  a 
solemn  acknowledgment  of  his  Word,  as  well  as  his  provi- 
dence. God  has  identified  his  name  and  credit  among  men 
with  Christianity.  It  is  his  wisdom  and  his  power.  Before 
a  human  breath  had  broken  the  solitude  of  eternal  nothing- 
ness, redemption  revolved  in  the  infinite  mind.  In  this  glori- 
ous conception  of  the  Godhead,  the  universe  was  cradled. 
Creation  with  its  astronomic  wonders,  the  earth  with  its 
mountains  piled  in  majesty,  its  vales  spread  out  in  beauty,  its 


472  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.         W  "u-  xv- 

seas  rolling  in  grandeur,  was  intended  as  the  theatre  for  its 
display.  The  genealogic  line  of  antediluvian  patriarchs  was 
recorded  in  sacred  story,  and  perpetuated  in  the  family  of 
Noah  for  this.  F<>r  this,  Abraham  was  called  from  Ur  of  the 
Chaldecs,  made  the  depository  of  truth,  and  the  father  of  a 
great  nation.  Around  this  offspring  of  the  divine  mind  in- 
spiration has  clustered  the  marvellous  annals  of  the  Israelite 
ish  people,  and  maintained  the  royal  seed  of  David's  line  in 
the  house  of  Judah  till  Shiloh  came.  The  advent  of  the  Son 
of  God  was  the  fulfilment  of  prophecy  and  promise,  and 
when  the  chosen  race  '  despised  and  rejected  him,'  wrath 
came  upon  them  to  the  uttermost.  Through  provocations 
innumerable,  the  nation  was  preserved  in  fulfilment  of  the 
Scriptur  the  introduction  of  Christianity.     Their  mali- 

cious unbelief,  their  insulting  scorn  of  Christ  was  the  signal 
for  their  overthrow  and  d  Even  now  these  tribe- 

the  wanderi*  h   scattered  and 

led,  are  kept  distinct,  unmingled,  a  miraculous  demonstra- 
tion of  the  truth  mil  the  fearful  guilt  of   making    light 
of  J                      reth.     Whei  u  find  a  Jew,  on  the  banks 
s  or  the  Tiber,   the    Thames    or    the    Rhine,    the 

'.m    or  the   M  ;>i,  you    behold  ;i  living  witness  of 

l's  primitive  justice  in  the  defence  of  the  Christian  religion. 
IIi>  isolation,  loneliness,  and  perpetuity  is  at  once  a  miracle 
and  a  seal  which  find  their  explanation  in  the  threatcnings  cf 
the  past  and  the  prophecies  of  the  future.  lie  has  survi 
the  faggot  and  the  sword,  Papal  persecution  and  Moslem  bar- 
barism— the  reproach  of  nations  and  the  waste  of  ages — on 
purpose  to  be  at  last  the  crowning  trophy  of  the  all-conquer- 
ing C: 

"  [Tie  V  ist  extent  and  unit}-  of  the  Roman  Empire  is  an 
historic  fact  which  has  its  solution  in  the  plans  of  God  for  the 

.  and  rapid  circulation  of  Christianity.  But  when  the 
truth  had  triumphed  over  the  throne  of  the  Caesars  and  the 
Church  of  God  had  been  corrupted  by  power  and  pride  and 
numbers,  by  another  touch  of  the  finger  of  Providence  this 
colossal  dominion  fell  to  rise  no  more.      Its  disruption  by  the 


1361-1865.  j         nfe  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  473 

Northern    hordes    was  another  step  in  the  solemn  march  of 
history  toward  the  grand  issue  which  regulates  the  dealings 
of  God  with  men  and  nations,  even  the  honor  of  the  cross 
and  the   diffusion  of  Christianity.      If  we   scan  the  shadows 
which  flicker  over  the    tablets  of   the  past,  or  search  amid 
the  cemeteries  of  fallen  dynasties  and  buried  empires,  or  if 
we  trace  the  path  of  revolution  and  commerce  and  gauge  the 
comparative  strength  of  Pagan  and  Christian    governments, 
everywhere — always,  alike,  in  the  epitaph  of  the  dead  and  in 
the  annals  of  the  living,  we  read  the  same  great  historic  les- 
son— '  Them  that  honor  me  I  will  honor  and  they  that  despise 
mc  will  be  lightly  esteemed.''     Oh  !  if  we  would  be    'a  wise 
and   understanding    people' — 'a  great   nation,   having    God 
nigh  unto  us  in  all  that  we   call  upon   him  for' — let  us  avow 
our  faith  in  his  revelation,   identify  our  government  with  his 
honor,  and  commit  our  interests  to  the  power  that  is  pledged 
to  perpetuate  the  Church  and  to  insure  her  dominion.     Then, 
amid  the  rise  and  fall  of  kingdoms  and  all  the  mutations  of 
time,   our  Republic  shall   embody  one  element — pure,  true, 
eternal — an    element  which  shall    ally  us   in  friendship   with 
heaven   and  stamp   upon   all  our  prosperity  the  seal  of  the 
divine  blessing.  ...  .  .... 

"  I  shall  not  now  attempt  to  show  the  pre-eminent  impor- 
tance of  the  Christian  Sabbath,  its  indispensable  relations  in  the 
government  of  God,  its  value  as  a  day  of  rest  to  man  and 
beast,  nor  its  connection  with  parental  duty  and  the  worship 
of  the  sanctuary.  I  rest  the  doctrine  on  the  naked  com- 
mand, '  Remember  the  Sabbath  day  to  keep  it  holy,'  when  I 
say  that  every  legislative  enactment  which  requires  or  sanc- 
tions its  violation  ought  to  be  repealed.  No  man  has  a  right 
to  appropriate  it  to  a  secular  use  ;  no  corporation  can  do  it 
without  guilt,  and  all  the  people  together  cannot  delegate  to 
their  representatives  the  right  to  set  it  aside  or  in  any  wise 
lower  its  claims.  Say  what  you  please — bring  up  your 
strong  reasons — exhaust  the  argument — when  the  debate  is 
ended  there  stands — the  fourth  commandment  unrepealed- — 
with  the  thunder  of  Sinai  in  its  hand  and  the  penal  sanctions 


4  r  4  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pier  [Ohap.XV 

of  eternity  at  its  back.  There  it  stands,  vindicated,  in  the 
providence  oi  God,  in  the  curse  of  the  nations  who  have  pro- 
faned  it  and  re-enacted  in  the  blessings  which  swarm  around 
its  sanctification.     To  collate  and  comment  upon  the  many 

ages  of  Holy  Writ  which  set  forth  the  claims  of  this  hal- 
lowed day  and  illustrate  the  divine  administration  in  refer- 
ence to  it  would  be  inadmissible  now.  The  continued  per- 
nt  testimony  of  the  Bible  and  Providence  in  favor  of  the 

ibath  shut  us  up  to  the  duty  of  hallowing  the  day  and 
sweeping  the  statute-book  of  all  opposing  enactments  or 
plunging  with  open  eyes  and  unshielded  bosom  upon  'the 
thick  bosses  of  Jehovah's  buckler.' 

"  Thei    i    another  statute  of  Georgia  adverse,  as  I  believe, 

the  will  of  God  and  the  true  interests  of  humanity.  I 
mean  the  law  which  forbids  us  to  teach  our  negroes  to  read. 
This  enactment  invades  the  rights  of  the  master  and  the  privi- 
leges of  the  slave.  It  is  the  duty  to  teach  his 
his  children,  the  doctrines  and  morals  of 
our  holj  :),  and  the  slave  is  entitled  to  the  advanta; ,;i  - 
in  the  use  of  which  he  may  learn  to  offer  to  his  .Maker  a  rational 

and   acceptable  worship.      ( >ur   Heavenly  Father  certainly 

never  int<  nded  any  human  mind  to  be  kept  in  darkness  and 

■  ranee.     Th<  is  an  immortal  being  and  it  is  his  right, 

by  the  law  of  creation  and  the  purchase  of  redemption,  to  read 

for  himself  the  epistles  of  his  Redeemer's  love.  If  the  insti- 
tution of  slavery  cannot  be  maintained  except  at  the  expense 
of  the  black  man's  immortal  interests,  in  the  name  of  heaven, 
ty — let  it  perish.  I  know  the  circumstances  out  of  which 
our  unfortunate  1  n  sprang.     It  was  partly  retaliatory, 

in  rebuke  of  the  incendiary  publications  of  the  North,  and 
parti)'  precautionary,  on  prudential  grounds.  But  the  logic 
of  the  law  is  as  bad  as  the  law  it>elf.  To  make  the  negro 
suffer  for  the  sins  of  the  Yankee  is  the  grossest  injustice,  and 
yet  this  is  the  practical  effect  of  our  law.  As  a  prudential 
policy  it  is  founded  upon  a  false  idea.  Knowledge,  so  far 
from  gendering  insubordination,  will  promote  the  loyalty  of 
our  colored  population.      Let  them   learn  from  the  Scripture 


1861-1865.]         Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  475 

that  their  relation  is  ordained  of  God — that  he  prescribes 
their  duties  and  makes  fidelity  to  their  earthly  masters  a  part 
of  the  service  due  to  him— our  hands  will  be  strengthened, 
our  mouths  filled  with  argument,  and  we  shall  put  to  silence 
the  ignorance  of  foolish  men.  A  Bible  in  every  cabin  will  be 
the  best  police  of  the  country,  and,  despite  the  ravings  of  a 
brainless  fanaticism,  subjection  and  order  will  reign  through- 
out our  land.  Thinking,  as  I  do,  that  one  of  the  moral  ends 
of  this  war  is  to  reform  the  abuses  of  slavery,  I  ought  to  add 
that  all  laws  and  parts  of  laws  which  authorize  or  allow  arbi- 
trary interference  with  the  connubial  relations  of  slaves 
ought  to  be  rescinded.  It  is  due  to  humanity,  to  the  great 
law  of  reciprocal  affection,  to  the  will  of  God.  '  What  God 
hath  joined  together  let  no  man  put  asunder.'  The  truth  is, 
that  on  this  whole  subject  public  opinion,  legislative  enact- 
ment, and  judicial  administration  are  all  too  liberal  and  too 
loose.  The  New  Testament  allows  divorce  only  for  one 
cause  ;  our  Code  grants  it,  on  application,  for  almost  any 
showing.  A  law  providing  for  separation  in  certain  extreme 
cases,  without  the  privilege  of  marrying  again,  would  promote 
the  peace  of  many  families  and  prevent  ruptures  in  many 
more.  But  in  relation  to  slaves  we  have  no  law  at  all.  The 
whole  question  is  open.  Husbands  and  wives  are  subject  to 
all  the  contingencies  of  time  and  circumstances— of  gain  and 
avarice,  of  passion  and  caprice,  of  the  law  of  inheritance 
whether  regulated  by  testament  or  appraisement.  Verily, 
'these  things  ought  not  so  to  be.'  It  is  all  wrong — a 
stigma  upon  our  civilization  and  an  offence  to  our  Christian- 
ity. Here,  then,  upon  our  knees  before  High  Heaven,  let  us 
vow  to  reform.  Yes,  my  countrymen,  let  us  do  right — fear 
God  and  keep  his  commandments.  Let  us  put  slavery  upon 
its  scriptural  basis — eliminate  its  long-tolerated  abuses,  de- 
fend it  not  only  by  force  of  arms  but  by  proving  to  the  world 
that  it  is  the  great  conservator  of  republican  government,  and 
that  it  is  really  consistent  with  the  highest  development  and 
the  greatest  happiness  of  the  negro  race.  I  will  not  go 
further  into  details.      Let  these  suffice.      '  Keep  therefore  and 


•17G  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.         [Ooaf.  xv. 

do  thou,  for  this  is  your  wisdom  and  understanding  in  the 
sight  of  the  nations.' 

"  Having  -aid  this  much  about  setting  the  government 
right  before  God  and  his  law,  it  will  be  appropriate,  in  con- 
clusion, to  remind  you  that  while  we  fast  and  pray,  it  will  be 
acceptable  to  God  and  of  service  to  our  beloved  country  to 
confess  and  forsake  our  own  sins.  God's  blessing  may  rest 
upon  a  Christian  government  while  yet  he  chastises  the 
guik\-  people  for  their  transgressions.  We  are  passing 
through  a  terrible  ordeal.  Some  sad  and  sickening  devel- 
opments have  been  made.  Heaven  has  blessed  US  generally 
with  fruitful  seasons  and  bounteous  harvests,  but  we  are  sac- 
rificing them  to  our  lusts.  I  ness  ami  discontent  pre- 
vail. Because  of  swearing  the  land  mourneth.  The  love  of 
money,  which  is  the  root  of  all  evil,  abounds,  runs  wild — 
grows  rccklc-s,  almost  ferocious  Kxtortion,  pitiless  ex- 
tortion, is  making  havoc  in  the  land.  We  are  devouring 
ther,      Avarice,  with   full   barn-.,  puts   the   bounties  of 

/idence  undei  ,  waiting  with  eager  longii 

The  widow's  wail  and  childhood's  cry  tall 

upon  hi-  car  unheeded.     The  soldier's  wife  shivers  in  her 
;n  and  moistens  her  crust  with  her  tears,  but  the  griping, 

pin-  monster  waits  for  a  darker  hour  to  make  sure  he 
loses  ii"t  a  dime  i<(  her  little  all.  The  greed  of  gain — the 
lowest,  meanest  infirmity  of  the  human  mind— stalks  among 
us,  unabashed  by  the  heroic  sacrifices  of  our  women  or  the  gal- 
lant deeds  of  our  soldiers.  Speculation  in  salt  and  bread  and 
meat  runs  riot  in  defiance  of  the  thunders  of  the  pulpit,  exec- 
utive interference,  and  the  horrors  of  threatened  famine. 
Factories  (though  there  arc  some  noble  exceptions  .  as  if  Provi- 
dence were  a  partner  like-minded  with  them,  and  had  brought 
on  the  calamities  of  the  country  for  their  benefit,  are  making 

ines  from  the  blood  of  the  brave  and  the  sighs  of  the 
innocent  and  lovely.  Scorning  the  currency  of  the  country 
they  demand  provision  for  their  manufactures,  and  conscious 
of  power  over  the  necessities  of  the  people  they  fix  the  price 
of  one    lower  than  justice   can  approve,  and   of  the   other, 


1861-1865.]         nfe  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  477 

higher  than  patriotism  would  take.     In  these  respects  we  are 
going  from  bad  to  worse. 

"  These  are  the  clouds  upon  our  sky,  big  with  the  rain  of 
grief  and  woe.  God  helping  us  we  can  manage  the  enemies 
that  come  to  us  with  arms  in  their  hands,  but  how  are  we  to 
escape  these  frogs  of  Egypt — these  all-devouring  locusts  that 
come  up  into  our  houses,  our  beds,  our  kneading-troughs,  is 
more  than  I  can  tell.  In  answer  to  prayer  this  day,  oh  Lord 
God,  abate  the  plague  and  save  us  from  violence  without  and 
selfishness  within. 

"  Men  and  brethren,  if  we  would  help  our  imperilled 
country  let  us  cultivate  personal  piety,  live  nearer  to  God 
ourselves,  and  promote  religion  in  our  neighborhoods  by  our 
labors,  our  example,  and  our  prayers.  Let  us  set  our  faces 
against  all  injustice,  oppression,  and  wrong.  Remember  the 
poor  and  needy.  Let  us  stand  by  our  government,  our 
army,  our  independence,  by  confidence,  encouragement,  and 
every  necessary  sacrifice.  With  a  Christian  constitution,  a 
faithful  administration,  a  moral  and  religious  people,  we  may 
look  for  peace  ere  long,  an  honorable  nationality,  a  long 
bright  career  in  which  our  prosperity  shall  be  durable  as  the 
stars  of  heaven  and  abundant  as  the  waves  of  the  sea." 

Returning  home  he  writes  : 

"  April  20,  1863.     . 

"  It  has  been  some  days  since  I  wrote  to  you.  I  have 
been  away  and  we  are  all  troubled  about  your  aunt  Julia, 
who  is  very  ill.  Clara  and  Claude  have  gone  down  to  be  with 
her.  I  am  waiting  to  hear  from  them  before  I  go  down  my- 
self. Your  mother  and  I  have  just  been  talking  about  you 
and  longing  for  your  presence.  Spring  is  upon  us  in  all  its 
freshness  and  beauty.  The  birds  make  music  for  us  day  and 
night.  The  corn  gleams  along  the  furrow.  The  garden  is 
green  and  promising.  My  wheat  is  magnificent,  conceded  to 
be  the  best  in  the  county.  It  is  the  admiration  of  everybody. 
If  no  casualty  overtakes  I  will  make  more  than  I  have  made 
in  three  years.  I  wish  you  could  feast  your  eyes  upon  it.  I 
hope  at  least  that  you  will  partake  of  the  harvest.     Your  last 


17^  Life  .?//./  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.       [Cm*,  xv. 

letter  I  thought  a  little  desponding  on  the  subject  of  food  for 
the  army.  The  only  real  difficulty  is  transportation.  The 
supply  is  abundant  for  all.  The  feeling  of  all  is  that  the  army 
must  be  fed.  Through  change  of  position  and  the  difficulty 
of  transporting  so  far,  you  may  occasionally  be  on  short 
rations.  15ut  this  evil  will  only  be  temporary.  Tell  the  boys 
to  stand  up  to  the  government  and  to  trust  the  people.  We 
will  all  divide  to  the  last.  The  heart  of  the  country  is  with 
the  army.  You  must  all  endure,  be  patient.  To  suffer  and 
to  wait  is  our  common  lot.  You  have  nearly  fought  through. 
The  goal  of  our  hopes  is  just  ahead.  Charleston  is  victor 
over  the  famous  Armada.  Yicksburg  still  defies  Grant,  his 
arm}-,  and  his  gunboats.  Johnson  and  Bragg  are  boldly, 
bravely  waiting  the  onset  ••!"  Rosencranz.  Two  months  more 
will  decide  the  contest,  I  think.  Hold  on.  Honor,  peace, 
the  gratitude  of  a  redeemed  country,  the  plaudits  of  a  glorious 
terity  await  you.  Up!  brave  spirits,  for  the  last  conflict, 
I  is  helping  us.  The  Waterloo  of  Yankeedom  is  just 
ahead.  Roll  on  glorious  hour.  f  sympathize  with  you  in 
able  about  the  adjutancy.  God  will  overrule  all  for 
d.  Act  well  your  part,  there  all  the  honor  lies.  You 
will  be  -ure  to  rise  sooner  or  later.  Do  not  make  haste.  Your 
merit  is  ackn  a  all  hands.      The  reward   will  come. 

yourself  for  hign  duties.  Be  read}-  to  fill  your  i 
when  you  get  it.  Tardiness,  delay,  will  magnify  it  by  proving 
that  it  was  not  a  lucky  accident  but  the  reward  of  meritorious 
-ervicc.  The  blessing  of  God  is  upon  you,  my  son,  he  will 
take  care  of  you  ami  exalt  you  in  due  time.  You  left  home- 
in  the  ranks,  and  if  you  return  unpromoted  there  are  loving 
hearts  to  make  you  as  welcome  as  if  you  came  back  a  Major- 
xeral 

"  April  28,  1S63. 

"  My  1  1st  letter  by  mail  I  hope  you  have  received.  There 
were  many  things  in  it  I  should  be  glad  for  you  to  read.  We 
are  all  in  trouble.  Your  aunt  Julia  is  dead.  This  is  a  crushing 
blow  to  our  hearts,  hopes,  and  plans.      It  is  not  often  that  the 

th    of  a   private   individual   produces   such   a   shock    and 


1861-1865.]  ufe  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  479 

breaks  up  so  many  cherished  arrangements.  But  she  is  gone, 
and  our  family  relations  are  sadly  changed.  Robert  and 
Julia  are  with  us.  Your  grandfather  is  very  feeble.  Sick- 
ness, age,  and  sorrow  have  wellnigh  broken  him  down.  He 
will  give  up  his  work  in  Augusta,  and  come  to  live  with  us. 
Your  uncle  Alfred  will  make  his  headquarters  at  our  house 
also.  So  you  see  my  family  is  largely  increased  again. 
These  providences  are  dark,  inscrutable  to  us.  But  we  know 
that  God's  '  work  is  perfect,'  his  dispensations  wise  and 
just  and  kind,  even  when  they  seem  severe.  My  dear  sister 
died  gloriously.  She  rests  in  peace,  her  home  is  heaven. 
Let  us  all  prepare  to  follow  her. 

"  Sallie  is  here.  We  had  along  talk  about  you  last  night. 
Oh,  how  we  all  long  for  the  sight  of  your  dear  face  and  the 
pleasure  of  your  companionship.  This  wretched  war  lingers 
along,  and  no  man  can  see  the  end.  I  am  praying,  hoping, 
but  feel  restless  and  impatient.  I  suppose  you  will  return 
toward  Fredericksburg  before  long.  Longstreet's  expedition 
is  for  food,  not  fighting,  I  trow.  This  county  is  responding 
freely  to  the  call,  both  for  meat  and  bread.  If  the  worst 
comes  we  will  all  starve  together.  But  I  think  there  is 
enough  for  us  all,  army  and  people.  Present  prospects  are 
promising.  Wheat  is  fine,  very  ;  corn  grows  beautifully.  The 
seasons  so  far  are  favorable,  so  that  the  last  hope  of  the 
Yankees  is  a  ghostly  reliance,  I  trust.  I  send  you  some 
papers,  not  as  news  but  to  beguile  your  time.  So  you  are  to 
have  the  adjutancy  at  last.  Well,  perhaps  it  is  best.  The 
lieutenancy  would  have  been  preferable  on  several  accounts. 
As  you  have  started  up,  keep  moving.  The  money  for  the 
horse  will  be  forthcoming.  The  colonel  sends  it,  I  am  rather 
ashore.  I  am  trying  hard  to  get  out  of  debt,  hope  to  get 
near  enough  to  the  end  to  see  through  before  my  tax  has  to 
be  paid. 

"  I  still  purpose  to  come  to  see  you.  I  will  surprise  you 
some  of  these  days.  Look  out.  Shall  go  to  Macon  in  the 
morning  to  meet  the  bishops.  Will  write  every  chance.  We 
are  all  well.     Love  from  all  to  you  and  Henry." 


180  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.         [Chip  x\ 

The  death  of  Mrs.  Mann  was  indeed  a  heavy  blow  to  his 
loving  heart,  for  Julia,  or  "  Beauty,"  as  he  called  her,  was  next 
to  him  in  age  ;  they  had  been  close  to  each  other  in  child- 
hood, and  when  she  married  Alfred  T.  Mann,  his  Conference 
associate,  they  were  never  far  apart.  She  had  lived  in  his 
house,  and  he  had  lived  in  hers.  They  had  much  in  com- 
mon. She  was  a  brilliant,  sparkling  woman,  whose  wit  lit  up 
every  circle.  For  himself  the  blow  was  heavy,  but  he  felt 
it  especially  because  it  fell  so  heavily  upon  his  aged  father, 
who  had  gone  to  Augusta  to  spend  what  he  thought  was  his 
remaining  days  with  his  daughter;  but  alas,  how  soon 
the  end  came. 

He  wi  mi  : 

"  May  6,  1863. 

"  Yesterday  we  got  the  news  of  another  great  victory  at 
Fredericksburg.  General  Jack-on  was  severely  wounded. 
This  i-  sad,  but  thank  God  f<>r  victory.  We  are  now  in  the 
midst  of   stirrin  The    war    is  coming    to   a   focus,   I 

trust.  In  Virginia  I  have  no  fear.  For  the  West  I  have 
:  apprehension.  The  foe  is  making  formidable  prepara- 
tions against  US.  A  :i  Tennessee  will  decide 
the  contest  now.  Johnson  and  Bragg  must  do  their  best  or 
we  will  suffer  for  a  long  time.  If  they  cm  defeat  and  drive 
Roscncranz  before  them  I  look  for  an  armistice,  and  that 
means  peace.  Yicksburg  still  wears  her  crown.  The  very 
air  is  big  with  rumors  of  raids,  fights,  captures,  and  move- 
ments of  every  sort.      I  expect  to   hear  of  you    soon    about 

dsboro'  and  of  a  fight  in  North  Carolina  somewhere.  Tell 
the  boys  to  make  an  end  of  it  next  time.  .  .  .  We  are 
all  well.  Our  family  is  larger  than  ever.  It  is  providential, 
and  so  I  look  for  help  from  above.  Your  mother  is  burdened 
and  so  am  I.  We  must  do  the  best  we  can.  Oh  that  you 
were  at  home  !  Sallie  and  Claude  went  down  to  John's  yes- 
terday." 

The  battle  o(  Gettysburg  had  been  fought,  and  there 
was  intense  anxiety  to  know  what  the  result  was. 


1861-1865.]  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  481 

"July  13,  1863. 

"  MY  DEAR  Son:  Heaven  only  knows  the  anxieties  of 
the  past  few  days.  Again  you  have  been  in  battle — terrible 
battle.  I  cannot  hear  from  you  or  of  you.  What  shall  I  do  ? 
How  can  I  wait  ?  If  I  go  I  cannot  reach  the  army  now,  and 
so  I  must  bide  the  telegraph  or  the  mail.  In  the  meantime  I 
have  been  to  God,  and  in  my  heart  have  felt  that  you  were 
safe.  So  I  feel  to-day,  and  yet  I  am  anxious  to  hear  from 
you.  Do  write  fully  and  let  us  know.  I  will  come  to  you 
just  as  soon  as  I  hear  from  you.  Your  mother  is  a  fountain 
of  tears,  just  ready  to  overflow  at  every  word  that  is  spoken. 
She  begs  me  to  wait  till  we  hear  from  you.  I  expected  to 
start  in  the  morning,  but  will  delay  awhile.  I  shall  bring 
Isham  with  me,  and  take  William  in  his  place.  This  is  the 
better  arrangement. 

"  We  have  very  unsatisfactory  accounts  of  Lee  and  the 
battles  of  Gettysburg.  I  wish  the  army  was  safe  on  this  side 
the  Potomac.  I  have  doubted  the  policy  of  invasion  all  the 
time.      Defence  is  our  true  interest  and  our  surest   work. 

"  Poor  Vicksburghas  fallen  at  last  ;  so  they  say.  Charles- 
ton has  been  attacked  again,  and  again  has  triumphed.  The 
war-cloud  thickens  lately,  but  I  am  hoping  and  cheerful  still. 
If  I  knew  positively  that  you  and  Henry  were  unhurt  I  should 
be  buoyant.  I  send  this  note  by  Dr.  William  Alfriend.  I 
hope  you  will  get  it.  We  are  all  well.  We  have  had  rain 
daily  for  three  or  four  weeks.  The  plantation  is  green,  the 
corn  fine.  Sallie  is  well,  and  feels  like  the  rest  of  us,  restless 
and  uneasy.      God  give  us  good  tidings,  and  that  right  early." 

The  suspense  was  ended  by  a  telegram.  Lovick  was 
severely  but  not  dangerously  wounded,  and  with  Henry 
Culver,  who  was  also  wounded,  was  on  the  way  to  Rich- 
mond. The  next  train  saw  the  anxious  father  on  his  way  to 
meet  them.  He  found  the  boys  in  the  hospital.  "  You 
must  get  ready  to  leave  this  afternoon."  "  But  we  can't ; 
we  must  get  furloughs  and  transportation."  "Well,  I  say 
yon  must,  you  get  ready  and  we  will  go."  It  required  but  a 
few  hours  for  him  to  have  all  the  papers  prepared,  and  with 
31 


482  life  ami  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.         [Chap.  XV. 

the  boys  on  the  train,  he  was  moving  homeward  ere  the  sun 
set.  lie  was  as  full  of  brightness  now  as  a  child.  His  boy 
was  not  killed.  Me  cheered  every  one  on  the  train  by  his 
heart}-  kindness  ;  waited  on  wounded  soldiers,  cheered  them 
up,  gave  kindly  attention  to  every  one,  and  was  the  life  of 
the  car.  At  last  he  safely  reached  Sunshine.  The  son  had  a 
hard  struggle  for  life,  with  the  gangrene  and  the  wound,  but 
when  hope  was  wcllnigh  gone  God  delivered  the  boy,  for 
life  hung  on  a  thread.  Hawley  Middlebrooks  cried  mightily 
to  him,  and  as  he  prayed  the  tide  turned.  The  P>ishop  puz- 
zled himself  little  about  the  how.  God  had  promised  to  hear 
prayer;  God  had  heard.  He  believed  that  God  had  spared 
the  life  of  his  son  in  answer  to  the  prayer  of  his  old  friend, 
whom  thirty  years  before  he  had  brought  to  Je 

The  war  had  swept  on  terrifically.  The  South  realized 
that  the  North  was  terribly  in  earnest,  and  that  1  )cmocrat 
and  Republican  alike  were  determined  on  her  conquest  and 
subjugation,  and  the  North  realized  at  last  that  this  was  no 
-A-,  no  politicians'  riot,  but  a  people's  uprising.  The 
Church  was  in  a  stat  I  confusion.     Bishop  Kavanaugh 

was  in  Kentucky,  but  hi         I    '      was  imperilled  there,  and  he 

forced  to  the  Pacific  coast  to  escape  the  prison.     The 

officials  of  the  publishing  house  had  fled  from  Nashville,  all 
except  Dr.  Abbey,  and  the  house  itself  had  been  seized  by 
the  government. 

With  Andrew,  Paine,  Pierce,  and  Early  on  this  side  of 
the  Mississippi  ami  in  the  Confederate  lines,  episcopal  ser- 
vice was  well  rendered,  but  episcopal  support  was  cut  off. 
Had  each  ofthesc  been  dependent  entirely  upon  his  episcopal 
income,  the  condition  of  things  would  have  been  seriously 
complicated  ;  but  Andrew,  Pierce,  and  Paine  had  farm 
their  own,  and  Early  had  sufficient  resources  to  meet  the  exi- 
gency. The  bishops,  however,  met  with  the  officials  of  the 
publishing  house  and  the  missionary  secretaries,  and  had  an 
annual  meeting  and  arranged  the  work  as  best  they  could. 
In  December,  [863,  Bi-hop  Pierce  presided  at  the  Virginia, 
the   North   Carolina,   and   the    South    Carolina   Conferences. 


1861-1865.]         ijfe  anci  Tiffies  0f  George  F.  Pierce.  483 

The  difficulty  of  making  the  appointments,  under  the  circum- 
stances surrounding  him,  was  very  great,  and  rigid  adherence 
to  old  laws  was  an  impossibility.  His  strong  common-sense 
stood  him  in  good  place,  and  the  work  was  done  as  well  as  it 
could  have  been  done.  The  work  over,  he  hastened  home 
again,  and  on  the  ioth  of  January  preached  in  Sparta.  The 
seat  of  war  came  nearer  and  nearer.  Georgia  was  invaded  ; 
Sherman  pressed  on  toward  the  centre  of  the  State.  Lovick 
had  recovered  sufficiently  from  his  wound  to  rejoin  his  regi- 
ment.    In  April  the  bishop  writes  : 

"  April  26,  1864. 
"  Your  departure  has  made  a  painful  vacuum.  We  are  all 
sad  because  of  the  separation.  I  count  the  day  you  left 
among  the  saddest  of  my  life.  It  seems  to  me  I  never  loved 
you  so  much.  Your  long  stay  with  us,  the  memory  of  your 
sufferings,  the  possibilities  of  the  future,  all  invest  your 
absence  with  more  touching  interest  than  ever  before. 
Nevertheless,  your  duty  to  God  and  the  country  demands  the 
sacrifice,  distressing  to  you,  as  well  as  to  us.  We  must  sub- 
mit, hoping  and  praying  for  the  best.  I  gave  you  to  God 
when  you  were  born,  and,  thank  God,  you  have  always  been 
a  pleasure  and  a  blessing.  We  are  all  in  his  hands.  We 
have,  as  a  family,  no  reason  to  distrust  the  Divine  goodness, 
and  every  reason  to  hope  in  his  mercy.  You  know  how  to 
appreciate  your  circumstances  and  ours,  and,  I  trust,  will 
give  yourself  diligently  to  all  your  duties,  religious  as  well 
as  military.  Watch  against  all  sin,  fear  God,  pray  much, 
believe  always,  be  prudent  as  well  as  brave,  careful  of  health 
and  life,  and  ready  for  all  the  duties  of  your  position.  The 
next  great  battle  in  Virginia,  I  trust,  will  end  the  war.  If  it 
is  your  lot  to  be  in  it,  may  God  shield  you  from  all  harm  and 
give  you  long  life  to  enjoy  the  fruits  of  your  valor  and  suffer- 
ings. The  day  of  your  safe  return  will  be  a  jubilee  to  our 
hearts.  I  hope  to  see  you  a  settled,  pious,  useful,  happy 
man,  living  in  plenty,  at  rest  under  your  'own  vine  and  fig- 
tree.'     God  bless  you,  my  dear  son  !     Amen  and  amen. 


481  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.        [Chap,  xv 

"  Nothing  of  much  interest  since  you  left.  The  weather  is 
more  pleasant,  the  wheat  grows  finely,  the  birds  are  terrible  in 
their  depredations  on  the  young  corn.  John  and  Ella  left  us 
yesterday  for  home.  Your  aunt  Clara  is  confined  to  her  bed 
with  rheumatism.  We  are  looking  for  your  grandfather  to 
day.       ........... 

"  Write  every  chance  you  get.  If  a  battle  occurs,  com- 
municate immediately.  Write  fully,  freely,  how  you  feel,  and 
let  me  know  if  there  is  anything  I  can  do  for  you.  1  have 
sent  r  the  boots.      All  send  love  by  the  ton. 

"  G  you  evermore." 

"July  7,    1864. 

"  The  mails  arc  out  of  joint.      The  only  chance  to  get  a 
letter  through   is  by  hand.     We  are  painfully  situated  just 
We  neither  get  letter-  from  you   nor  despatches  from 
the  army.      From  all  I  can  hear,  it  seems  t<>  meth.it  Grant  has 
got  the  ;e  of  position.      Your   communications  with 

the  South  are  cut.  1  &e<  Dd  relief  but  in  a  battle  and  a  crush- 
ing victory,  or  else  a  retreat  into  North  Carolina.  Then 
Richmond.  1  .11  Virginia  are  gone.      I  do    not  like 

the  present  phase  ol  ther  in  Virginia  or*. 

it  battles  may  rectify  matters  ;   I  hope  will,  aiul  that  soon. 
demonstrations   are    made   at    I  ton,  too.      The 

Federals  hive  got  the  advantage  there  recently.  In  the  \\ 
the  Confederate  star  still  burns  brightly,  and  still  ascends  the 
sky.  Johnson  still  falls  back.  Marietta  i^  in  the  hands  of 
the  enemy.  We  whip  them  in  every  tight,  kill  and  capture, 
and  yet  we  retreat  and  they  press  on.  It  is  curious  to  me. 
The  army  is  said  to  be  buoyant.  The  Governor's  '  Pets  '  * 
have  been  in  a  fight  and  behaved  gallantly.  .  .  .  The 
Lord  help  us  and  deliver  us. 

"  Well,  let  us  pray  and  hope  the  best.  May  God,  our 
Heavenly  Father,  remember  us  in  mercy.  The  Lord  keep 
you,  my  son,  from  all  harm  by  day  and  night.  I  feel  that  he 
will.     God  ble^s  you.      Love  to  Henry." 

*Thc  Militia. 


isei-1865.1  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  485 

"  August  5,  1864. 

"  Since  Sunday  last  we  have  had  a  great  excitement  in  old 
Hancock  about  the  Yankee  raiders.  Such  commotion,  run- 
ning, hiding,  you  never  saw.  The  raiders  never  came  nearer 
than  the  river.  They  visited  Henry  Fraley's  plantation, 
took  all  his  mules,  drank  his  brandy,  ate  his  preserves,  and 
left,  going  toward  Greensboro'.  They  have  done  great  dam- 
age to  the  railroads — the  Central  Georgia,  and  Macon  and 
Western.  Our  cavalry  are  after  them,  have  whipped  them  in 
several  fights,  captured  General  Stoneman  and  two  thousand 
men,  killed  a  great  many,  got  a  thousand  horses,  and  have  all 
the  rest  running  and  scattered.  When  we  looked  for  them 
here  last  Sunday  night  we  concluded  to  pack  up  our  valua- 
bles and  hide  out.  So  we  camped  out  one  night  in  the  pine 
thicket,  had  a  merry  time  in  our  bivouac,  but  next  morning 
we  marched  back,  took  possession  of  home,  determined  to 
leave  no  more.  I  cannot  stand  dodging  about.  I  go  up  in 
the  morning  to  speak  and  stir  up  the  people  to  organize  for 
defence.  Armed  and  equipped  we  can  protect  ourselves. 
We  shall  be  liable  to  raids  until  Sherman  is  whipped  back. 
This  result  we  are  looking  for  every  day.  Reinforcements 
have  reached  Hood  from  the  West,  the  State  will  send  up 
fifteen  or  twent)'  thousand  men.  Hood  has  whipped  Sher- 
man's right  wing  twice,  and  we  all  believe  will  whip  him  thor- 
oughly very  soon. 

"  In  this  region  we  are  suffering  from  a  terrible  drought. 
I  shall  hardly  make  my  bread,  I  fear.  My  trust  is  in  the  Lord. 
Your  uncle  Tom  and  wife,  children,  and  negroes,  have  just 
left  for  home.  They  had  fled  here  for  safety.  The  Yankees 
have  been  in  Madison  and  Morgan,  and  stole  mules  and 
negroes  very  freely. 

"  Sallie  is   here.      Is  well,  looks  well.      How  is   Isham  ?  * 

Tell  him  to  keep  right  side  up.      Albert  is  doing  well.     We 

have  not  heard  from  you  since  the  21st.      Write.     The  Lord 

bless  you. 

"  September  7,  1864. 

"  We  are  all  sad  over  the  fall  of  Atlanta.     The  mere  loss 
*  One  of  his  negroes.     Lovick's  servant. 


48G  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.         [Cuai-.  xv 

of  the  place  is  not  so  much,  but  the  moral  effect  is  against  us. 
The  Philistines  will  rejoice.  A  new  impulse  will  be  given  to 
the  war  I  fear.  Sherman  has  made  a  bold  move  and  suc- 
ceeded. He  has  displayed  no  little  generalship.  Hood  has 
n  outwitted  somewhat.  Nevertheless  he  has  done  well. 
Our  army  is  unbroken.  The  evacuation  of  Atlanta  was  the 
result  of  a  manoeuvre  rather  than  a  defeat,  so  that  Hood  is 
still  ready  and  able  to  fight.  The  future  movements  of  the 
Campaign  I  cannot  predict.  If  proper  plans  are  adopted  I 
think  Sherman  can  be  compelled  to  capitulate  in  forty  days. 
W  e  have  ample  force  to  break  up  all  his  communications. 
Taylor,  Wheeler,  Morgan,  and  Vaughn  might  all  be 

employed  in  this  business  right  away.  This  ought  to  be 
done  instanter.  We  lack  nothing  now  but  combination, 
bold    m  ,   celerity   of  action  to   close   the  campaign 

with  a  clap  of  thunder.  1  wish  I  were  President  for  a  few 
day-  ;   I  .inly  how  everything  can  be  done.     Delay,  I 

fear,  will  ruin  us.      G  •    'ill  be  open  to  raids  all  this  win- 

unless  by  prompt  measures  Sherman  is  u-v<.\  up.     The 
Chic  nvention  has  disappointed  me  somewhat.     The 

Yankee  Democracy  is  the  last  thing  to  be  trusted.  I  have 
many  hopes  of  the  future,  but  no  settled  convictions  as  to 
results.     M;  rt  is  the  Lord  reigneth.      He  is  my 

'  help  and  my  hope.1     I  am  not  depressed,  but  restless,  un- 

y.     I  can:  through  the  gloom  of  the  times,  and  dread 

:    heaven   in  this    matter.     God   pity   us    and 

help  us.      I  shall  try  to  do  right  and  trust  God.      I  shall  send 

your  mother  and    sister  to   .  .  if  the  raiders  threaten 

US,  and  will  take  care  of  myself  the  best  I  can." 

After  the  defeat  of  Hood's  army  at  Franklin,  Tenn., 
it    v.  red  to    unite    the    two    armies,    the    remnant    of 

!  's  and  of  Johnson's  ;  and  the  Western  army  was  ordered 
back  through  Georgia.  The  railroad  lines  were  broken,  and 
the  only  route  was  by  Milledgevillc  to  Mayfield  in  Warren. 
Sunshine  was  immediately  on  the  route.  Day  by  day,  as  the 
soldiers  came  by,  they  called  in  troops,  many  for  food,  many 
for  shelter.      1  Ie  never  turned  one  away  ;   a  half  dozen  cooks, 


1861-1865.]         iife  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  487 

were  kept  at  work  all  the  day,  and  the  larder  was  drawn  upon 
and  emptied  ;  but  not  emptied  sooner  than  filled,  for  his  no- 
ble neighbors  sent  in  supplies  as  fast  as  he  exhausted  them. 
Hundreds  of  soldiers  were  fed,  none  were  ever  refused. 

Once  the  bishop  playfully  remarked  in  a  speech  on  the  want 
of  thrift  in  a  young  brother  who  was  an  agent,  and  his  serious 
fear  that  he  would  starve  yet.  The  brother  said,  in  reply, 
"  When  I  starve  you  may  look  out,  and  a  whole  army  couldn't 
starve  you."  He  said  to  me  it  was  almost  unaccountable  how 
he  did  hold  up,  but  he  resolved  that  while  he  had  a  crumb 
he  would  share  it. 

"July  25,  1864. 

"We  are  in  the  midst  of  great  excitement.  The  air  is 
alive  with  rumors.  The  county  has  been  called  together, 
speeches  made,  two  companies  organized,  and  to-day  they 
are  off  for  Atlanta.  The  old  colonel  is  captain  of  one, 
Frank  Little  of  the  other.  The  story  is  that  the  Yankee 
raiders  have  burned  Covington  and  are  marching  on  Greens- 
boro' ;  another,  that  they  are  marching  on  Athens,  ten  thou- 
sand strong.  I  doubt  the  whole.  They  have  not  been  lower 
than  the  Stone  Mountain.  We  are  in  a  stir,  certain.  But 
amid  all  comes  the  glorious  news,  that  Hood  has  whipped 
Sherman  terribly.  Glory  to  God.*  It  will  be  interesting  to 
you  to  know  the  following  facts.  When  the  despatch  reached 
Hood,  appointing  him  to  command,  he  called  all  the  chief 
officers  together  and  told  them  that  if  they  were  for  fighting 
right  there  and  then,  he  would  accept,  and  if  not  he  would 
decline." 

In  September  he  wrote  the  last  of  his  war  letters.  At- 
lanta fell,  Hood  left  Georgia,  Sherman  made  his  march  to 
the  sea.      Bentonville  came,  and  the  end. 

He  had  fought  bravely,  he  surrendered  gracefully.  God 
ruled  over  all.  Lovick  was  safe,  Henry  was  safe,  George  was 
safe.  There  was  a  need  for  thought  and  care  and  courage. 
God  would  not  forsake.  He  spoke  words  of  cheer,  and  faced 
the  future  with  a  dauntless  eye. 

*  The  glorious  news  was  a  canard. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 
READJUSTMENT,  1S65-1866,  AGED  54-55. 

Readjustment — Reconstruction  after  Destruction — Condition  of  Things 
after  the  War — Hearts  Quailing — The  Bishop's  Note  of  Cheer — 
General  Conference,  [866 — Great  Changes — The  Bishop's  Finn 
Stand— Change  of  Front — After  the  Conference — District  Confer- 
ences— Baltimore  Confereni 

THE  war  was  virtually  at  an  end  OH  April  20,  1865.  The  sol- 
diers, main- of  them,  IkuI  reached  home  on  parole  ere  that 
time,   and  Adjutant  1'icrcc,   Henry,  and  Ge  tin  glad- 

dened Sunshine  by  their  presence,  and  Sallie  and  Claude, 

les  of  a  few  months  when  the  war  began,  now  had  their 
husbands  with  them  again.  No  one  of  the  family  had  fallen 
in  fight.  The  faith  of  the  father  had  been  honored  in  the 
result  He  had  hoped  for  victory  and  independence ;  God 
had  not  seen  it  best  that  it  should  be,  and  with  a  submis 
heart,  he  received  the  verdict,  and  said  Amen  ! 

He  <':i'l  a  it,  then  or  afterward,  change  his  views  <>f  the 
tice  of  the  Southern  cause,  nor  believe  that  the  victor}-  of 
arms  is  always  a  proof  of  divine  favor.  He  did  not  accept 
the  doctrine  of  the  poet,  "  that  whatever  is,  is  best,"  but  he 
did  accept  the  divine  declaration,  that  "all  things  work  - 
getber  for  good  to  those  who  lot  "   and   that  when,  in 

God's  providence,  anything  befalls  us,  we  should  bow  submis- 

ly.  He  feared  the  Southern  people  were  not  ready  for 
independence.  He  was  not  disposed  to  be  a  factionist.  The 
decree  had  gone  forth  ;  he  would  accept  it,  and  make  the 
best  of  it.  He  was  a  Georgian,  and  Georgia  was  by  the  fiat 
of  war  held  to  the  Federal  Union,  and  he  was  now  to  be 
loyal  to  his  State  and  to  the  General  Government. 


1865-1866.]  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce. 


489 


The  war  was  over ;  the  children  were  safe,  and  it  did  not 
so  much  matter  with  the  good  people  at  Sunshine  as  to  what 
else  they  had  lost.  Few  young  people  of  this  day  can  realize 
the  dazed  condition  of  those  of  us  in  the  South  who  faced 
the  changes  of  1865,  the  revolution  which  had  come  almost 
in  a  day.  The  slave  was  freed,  the  State  government  was 
overturned,  the  very  judge's  seat  was  vacated.      A  soldier 


H.    N.    MC  TYIERE,    D.D. ,    BISHOP. 


from  a  distant  State  dictated  to  the  former  owner  of  a  hun- 
dred slaves  what  he  should  pay  his  plough-boy,  and  how  he 
should  treat  his  cook.  The  States  which  had  been  fighting 
because  they  wished  to  be  out  of  the  Union  were  now  told 
they  were  out,  and  should  stay  out  and  be  ruled  as  conquered 
provinces  till  the  conqueror  said,  come  in.  The  currency 
in  the  South  was  worthless  ;  the  country  was  bare  of  all  im- 
ported comforts ;    no  coffee,   nor  tea,   nor  pepper — nothing 


490  Lih'  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.        VXu*.  xvl 

save  what  it  had  from  its  own  fields.  But  there  were  mitiga- 
tions in  the  midst  of  all  the  evil — our  conquerors  were  men 
of  our  blood  and  of  our  own  religion.  They  were  not  dis- 
posed to  add  to  the  pain  of  such  defeat  any  penalty  beyond 
what  they  thought  safety  demanded.  That  was  severe  enough  ; 
but  there  were  no  scaffolds  erected,  no  lands  confiscated,  no 
banishments  decreed.  The  markets  were  open  ;  what  little 
cotton  and  tobacco  we  had  brought  fabulous  prices.  Mary- 
land, Kentucky,   Missouri,  California,  the  West  and  North 

I  forth  their  rich  L,ifts  for  the  relief  of  the  stricken  South. 
God  was  God,  and  his  goodness  was  over  us  still.  Though 
South  was  desolated  and  stricken,  and  main'  severe 
demands  were  made,  and  many  bitter  things  were  dine,  yet 
the  cry  of  the  people  was  not  for  vengeance  nor  retaliation. 
Yet,  while  this  was  true,  and  while  with  glad  hearts  we  make 
the  record,  the  char.  i  were  by  no  means  insignificant, 

iv>r  were  the}'  made  without  involving  the  people  in  serious 
trouble.  Man_\-  things  were  done  which  one  will  find  it  hard 
to  justify,  01 

Bishop  1'ierce  had  done  his  best  for  a  Southern  Confed- 
eracy— there  coi:  i  doubt  of  that — but  he  was  too  loyal 

ad  of  his  country,  too  forgiving,  to 
refuse  to  accept  what  had  come,  or  to  cherish  any  bittern 
toward  .  mentS.      He    did    speak   words   of   fire  dining 

the  war,  but  the}-  were  not  levelled  at  men  as  individuals, 
and  no  man  from  the  North  need  have  feared  that  the  door 
at  Sunshine  would  have  been  closed  in  his  face. 

In  Church  matters  things  were  not  less  in  chaos.  Cut  off 
from  Bishop  Andrew  and  from  Bishop  Paine,  Bishop  Early, 
and  Bishop  Kavanaugh,  he  could  have  no  consultation  with 
the  bi>hops.  The  preachers  did  not  know  what  to  do.  In 
Kentucky  a  number  of  leading  men  had  gone,  or  were  going 
off,  from  the  Conference.  The  West  Virginia  and  Western 
Conferences  were  broken  up  ;   tl.  uri    Conference  met 

at  the  peril  of  the  prison.      Brownlow  ruled  Ten:  9 •  ith 

a  rod  of  iron,  and  the  Holston  Conference  seemed  hope- 
lessly divided  ;    the   New    Orleans,  the   Vicksburg,  and   the 


1865-1866.]         Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce. 


491 


Charleston  churches  were  in  possession  of  the  preachers  of 
the  M.  E.  Church  placed  there  by  Federal  order.  The 
colored  people  had  gone  almost  en  masse  to  the  African 
Methodists,  Zion  Methodists,  or  the  M.  E.  Church ;  the 
publishing  house  in  Nashville  was  hopelessly  in  debt,  and  all 
its  material  had  been  confiscated  by  the  Government  ;  the 
Missionary  Treasury  was   empty,    and   a  heavy   debt  hung 


E.   M.    MARVIN,    D.D. ,   BISHOP. 


over  it.  The  churches  were  unable  to  support  their  preach- 
ers ;  the  preachers  were  forced  to  field  and  bench  and  count- 
er to  get  bread.  The  M.  E.  Church  was  endeavoring  to  es- 
tablish itself  all  through  the  South,  to  disintegrate  and  absorb 
the  Southern  church.  Not  a  church  press  was  at  work. 
All  the  Advocates  were  suspended  ;  the  lines  of  communica- 
tion were  broken  up.  Texas  had  not  had  a  bishop  for  five 
years.     St.  Louis,  Missouri,  Kentucky,  West  Virginia,  Louis- 


499  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.        [Cim-.  XVI 

ville,  and  California,  all  were  dependent  upon  Bishop  Kava- 
naugh.  Then  some  of  the  Church,  losing  faith  in  her 
future,  were  coquetting  with  an  Episcopal  Bishop  for  a  union 
of  churches — the  M.  P.  Church  South  and  the  Protestant 
Episcopal  South  ;  and  some  were  proposing  to  give  up  and 
go  back  to  the  M.  E.  Church.  The  first  note  Bishop  Pierce 
vent  out  w.is  given  almost  as  soon  as  the  war  ended;  it  was 
a  note  of  hopefulness  :  "  All  is  not  lost.  Do  not  let  the  cry 
delude  you  ;  stand  firm,  the  storm  will  soon  be  over."  He 
remained  close  at  home  for  the  most  of  the  year  1865,  and 
preached  diligently.  In  the  fall  he  went  to  Charlotte  to  the 
South  Carolina  Conference,  and  to  Macon  to  the  Georgia, 
and  to  Madison,  11a.,  to  the  Florida,  where  he  sounded 
the  same  note  of  heart}-  cheer.  I  have  but  one  letter  from 
him  during  this  year.  I  was  refugee! ng  in  the  low  coun- 
try. He  had  given  me  commission  to  L,rct  him  some  sugar 
and   sirup.       He  did  not  soon   as    he   needed    it,  and 

he  wrote  me  : 

"  Si  n  hi  ink. 
"  I 'I  \l    G  '••   :  my     weetening  ?      I    have 

.  neither  long  nor   short. 

"  G.   F.   I'll  RCE." 

e,  as  we  have  seen,  was  a  conservative.  IP- 
was  not  nor  was  he  a  Bourbon.  He  did  not  adhere 
to  things  because  the}-  were  old,  nor  accept  proposed  innova- 
tions because  they  were  new.  There  was  a  party  of  progres- 
sives in  the  Church  who  had  found  him  always  in  their  way. 
The}-  were  bright,  gifted,  pious,  conscientious  young  men. 
The}-  had  hinted  before  the  war  at  changes  which  were  to  be 
it  improvements.  Pews  and  choirs,  fine  churches,  more 
practical,  less  emotional  religion,  more  culture  in  the  pulpit 
to  meet  the  demands  of  the  pew,  fewer  changes  in  appoint- 
ments, more  pastors,  and,  as  one  of  them  expressed  it,  more 
forcibly  than  elegantly,  less  preacher-in-chargery,  more  bish- 
ops, more  lay  power,  no  probation,  no  class-meetings,  less 
rigidity  in  general  rules,  etc. 


1865-1866.]  life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce. 


493 


It  was  evident  that  in  the  next  General  Conference  radical- 
ism was  to  have  sway.  The  elections  to  the  body  indicated 
the  fact.  The  bishops  saw  it,  and  were  not  disposed  to  resist 
it  entirely,  but  feared  the  result  of  such  wholesale  changes. 
When  the  General  Conference  met,  they  warned  against  too 
many  changes,  but  suggested  that  some  were  in  order.  These 
changes  were  made  in  rapid  succession.     The  name  of  the 


DAVID   S.    DOGGETT,   D.D. 


Church  was  changed,  as  far  as  the  General  Conference  could 
do  it.  Lay  delegation  was  introduced,  the  class-meeting 
test  was  abolished,  the  probation  system  was  discontinued, 
Church  conferences  were  legalized,  district  conferences  were 
suggested,  and  a  committee  on  revision  of  the  discipline, 
which  afterward  made  a  decided  rearrangement,  was  ap- 
pointed to  report  at  the  next  General  Conference,  and  at 
last  the  time-limit  in  appointments  was  removed.  Bishop 
Pierce  was  a  man  of  convictions,  but  he  was  not  an  autocrat, 


494  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce*       [Chap,  xvl 

.iiul  he  yielded  whenever  in  good  conscience  he  could  yield  ; 
but  when  this  was  done,  and  there  was  to  be  no  limit  to  a 
pastorate  fixed  by  law,  he  saw  our  very  church  economy 
was  in  peril  and  he  took  firm  stand  against  it.  He  would 
resign  at  once,  if  that  law  was  made  operative.  The  Confer- 
ence began  to  doubt,  and  then  resolved  to  retrace  its  steps, 
and,  leaving  the  time-limit  at  four  years,  it  withdrew  from  its 
position.  He  accepted  these  changes,  but  never  indorsed 
them  all,  and  he  held  to  it  that  four  years  was  too  long  for  any 
man  to  stay  in  one  charge,  and  whenever  he  could  he  invari- 
ably changed  him  at  the  end  of  two  years. 

E.  11.  Myers,  D.D.,  the  then  editor  of  the  Southern 
Christian  Advocate,  and  a  man  of  great  purity  of  character, 
of  large  learning,  and  a  devoted  friend  of  the  Church,  was 
chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Changes  in  Economy.  He 
special  friend  of  Bishop  Pierce's,  and  it  shows 
the  tolerant  spirit  of  thai  I  man  that,  though  Myers  led 

the  progressives,  he  never  I  'ace   in   the  heart  of  the 

bishop. 

The  Conference  had  appointed  a  committee  on  chai 
in  economy,  who  hail  certainly  done  its  work  thoroughly, 
and  the  whole  body  had  concurred  in  its  decisions.  It  was 
now  to  be  seen  whether  these  changes  were  to  be  of  advan- 
or  no.  If  Bishop  Pierce  had  been  on  the  floor,  rather 
than  in  the  chair,  he  had  no  doubt  spoken  in  positive 
terms  his  opinion  as  to  these  innovations  ;  but  the  Confer- 
ence to  whoin  the  office  of  making  them  belonged  had  spo- 
ken,  and  it  was  his  work  to  carry  them  out.  McTyiere, 
Wightman,  Doggett,  and  Marvin  were  the  new  bishops. 
Wightman  had  long  been  one  of  his  warmest  friends.  They 
had  been  closely  connected  since  he  had  begun  his  work  ; 
differing  in  almost  every  way,  they  had  a  mutual  regard  for 
each  other  which  was  very  high.  McTyiere  was  at  that  time 
in  the  very  brightness  of  his  young  manhood,  and  was  the 
recognized  leader  of  the  progressives  in  every  forward  move- 
ment ;  Doggett  as  polished  as  chiselled  marble — a  high-ton 
highly  gifted  Virginia  gentleman  ;  and  Marvin,  the  Missouri 


1865-1866.]         Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  495 

wonder,  who,  springing  from  the  wilds  of  Missouri,  travelling 
hard  missions  and  hard  circuits,  had  secured  for  himself  a 
place  among  the  most  classic  writers  and  chaste,  eloquent 
speakers  of  the  whole  Church — he  loved  Bishop  Pierce  as 
he  loved  no  other  man,  and  no  man  ever  loved  another  with 
a  truer  love  than  George  F.  Pierce  had  for  Enoch  Marvin. 

Bishop  Andrew  had  voluntarily  retired  from  active  work, 
and  so  had  Bishop  Early ;  Bishop  Soule  was  too  feeble 
to  attend  the  session,  and  he  died  in  less  than  a  twelvemonth 
after  it  closed.  Paine,  Kavanaugh,  and  himself  were  the  only 
active  men  of  the  old  panel.  As  soon  as  he  returned  to 
Culverton,  he  began  at  once  his  visitation  to  the  churches. 
The  district  conference  had  been  suggested  and  was  now  be- 
ing introduced,  and  he  writes  of  his  visits  to  them  : 

"  Since  9th  June  I  have  been  visiting  the  churches,  aver- 
aging one  sermon  a  day.  The  mind  of  our  people  in  refer- 
ence to  the  action  of  the  General  Conference  may  be  summed 
up  as  follows  :  In  many  cases  they  heartily  indorse,  in  others 
passively  acquiesce,  and  in  all  agree  to  test  the  changes  by  a 
fair  trial.  .......... 

"  Let  us  maintain  what  is  distinctive  and  peculiar,  at 
least  so  far  as  to  identify  our  individuality.  With  charity 
for  all  other  churches,  I  frankly  avow  Methodism  suits  me 
best  in  every  way,  and  I  think  it  best  for  my  children  and  my 
children's  children.  Let  every  Methodist  parent  give  his 
church  a  lien  upon  his  household  by  all  legitimate  means — 
such  as  baptism  of  his  children,  instructing  them  in  Metho- 
dist theology,  teaching  them  to  reverence  the  ministr)',  to 
admire  the  simplicity  of  our  forms,  and  the  directness  and 
spirituality  of  our  worship.  The  defections  amo'ng  our  peo- 
ple, whether  they  fall  back  into  the  world  or  go  into  other 
churches,  originate  largely  in  an  imperfect,  loose,  superficial 
family  religion,  both  as  to  the  standard  of  piety  and  mode  of 
training.  .  .  .  The  false  ideas  about  antiquity  and  suc- 
cession and  sacraments,  which  are  .beguiling  so  many,  ought 
to  be  rectified  and  forestalled  by  holy  living,  by  teaching  that 


49G  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Piene.       W*"*«  xvr 

the  true  glory  of  a  church  is  its  moral  power,  its  usefulness, 
its  converts,  its  revivals,  its  pious,  spiritual  members,  its  holy 
and  effective  mini-try. 

"  Disorderly  members  will  be  brought  to  account  ;  dram- 
drinkers  and  dancing  Methodists,  without  prompt  confession 
of  wrong,  deep  humiliation,  and  solemn  pledges  never  to  re- 
peat, will  be,  or  they  ought  to  be,  cutoff. 

He  says,  in  conclusion  : 

"  The  Church,  thank  God,  is  neither  dead  nor  dying. 
Our  Elijahs  who  think  nobody  is  left  but  themselves  are  mis- 
taken. There  are  more  than  seven  thousand  who  neither 
drink  nor  dance,  nor  cheat,  nor  lie,  but  still  love  God  and 
keep  his  commandme: 

Emory  College  had  suspended  during  the  war,  and,  with 
her  endowment  swept  away,  there  seemed   little  hope  of  her 
lining  work  again  ;   but  the  Legislature  |  in  act  to 

pay  the  tuition  of  Confederate  soldiers  who  were  disabled 
and  who  would  teach  a  few  years,  and  the  college,  under  Rev. 
L,  M.  Smith,  with  l'r  I  >rr  and  Stone,  opened  wide  her 

doors.      The  bishop  came  with  a  stirring  appeal  for  help,  and 
from  this  time  his  labors  in  her  behalf  never  knew  an   Inter- 
ion.     He  began  his  journey  to  the  West  in  September, 

iching  in  Memphis,  Des  Arc,  Scare}-.  Red  Oak,  Little 
Rock,  Arkad-  lphia,  on  the  steam-boat,  and  at  Chattanoo 
Here  he  found  himself  able  to  go  home  and  spend  a  few 
days,  when  he  left  for  North  Carolina,  and  presided  over  the 
North  Carolina  Conference,  and  thence  to  Virginia,  where 
he  met  the  Virginia  Conference  at  Norfolk  ;  then  home  again. 
So  ends  the  year  1866. 

With  the  entry,  "  Culverton,  December  10th,"  the  old 
memorandum-book,  which  tells  of  six  thousand  eight  hundred 
and  thirty-two  sermons  preached  and  seventy  thousand  miles 
travelled  in  twenty-five  years,  ends.  The  last  page  is  used  up. 
and  the  stray  leaves  of  other  books  tell  the  rest  of  the  story. 

During  the  General  Conference  of  1866  the  delegates  from 
the  Baltimore  Conference  were  admitted   to  equal  represen- 


1865-1866.]         ufe  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce. 


497 


tation,  and  this  body  became  an  integral  part  of  the  M.  E. 
Church  South.  The  larger  part  of  the  territory,  and  the 
larger  number  of  the  preachers,  adhered  South.  In  the  city 
of  Baltimore,  however,  all  the  property  was  held  by  the  M.  E. 
Church  ;  Trinity  Church,  an  Independent  church  with  warm 
Southern  sympathies,  and  Chatsworth,  another  Indepen- 
dent Methodist  church,  with  close  attachment  to  the  South, 
had  been  built.  These  were  not  of  the  Baltimore  Confer- 
ence, but  were  affiliated  with  it  ;  there  were  other  churches 
distinctively  Southern.     Bishop  Pierce  was  to  preside  at  the 


^ 


B.    H.    MYERS.    D.D 


Conference  in  March.  His  father  was  invited  to  come  with 
him,  and  did  so.  The  visit  of  the  most  venerable  and  distin- 
guished of  Southern  preachers  and  of  the  most  eloquent  of 
Southern  bishops  was  an  event  the  Southern  Methodists  in 
Baltimore  desired  to  make  the  most  of.  The  great  hall  of 
the  Maryland  Institute  was  secured.  Extensive  arrange- 
ments were  made  ;  a  crowd  of  curious  hearers  came  in,  and 
filled  the  seats.  He  rose  on  a  public  stage,  with  the  wind 
on  his  back,  with  nothing  to  inspire  him,  and  failed.  On  the 
next  Sunday,  when  he  preached  before  the  Conference,  he 
preached  as  he  was  accustomed  to.  His  presidency  gave 
great  satisfaction  to  the  Conference,  clerical  and  lay. 
32 


498  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.        [Chap.  XVI. 

The  Baltimore  Conference,  which  came  to  the  Southern 
General  Conference  and  was  first  presided  over  by  himself  in 
the  Spring  of  1867,  was  a  noble  body  of  men,  and  was  very 
dear  to  him.  He  was  the  guest  of  T.  J.  Magruder,  a  leading 
layman,  then  a  member,  as  now,  of  Trinity  Church.  Magru- 
der had  been  so  true  to  the  South,  so  generous,  so  tender,  so 
fearless,  that,  apart  from  other  reasons,  these  would  have  given 
him  the  entry  into  his  heart  ;  but  there  was  an  instinctive 
going  out  of  the  heart  of  the  bishop  toward  him  which  drew 
him  to  him  as  a  man  and  a  brother.  Magrtlder's  house  was 
his  home.  lie  loved  him  as  he  loved  his  friends.  Not  long 
before  he  died  they  met  for  the  last  time,  and  with  that 
warm  embrace  which  he  only  gave  to  those  he  loved  well,  he 
took  him  in  his  arms.  He  had  immense  admiration  for  the 
heroic  spirit  of  this  border  conference,  and  always  visited  it 
with  gn  ne.     .After    the   close  of  the   Conference   in 

Baltimore  he  returned  home. 


T.  J.   MAGRUDER, 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

EPISCOPAL  JOURNEYINGS,  1867-1870,  AGED  56-59. 

The  Methodist  Protestant  Commission — Letters  from  North  Carolina — 
Kentucky — Mammoth  Cave — Views  on  the  District  Conference — 
Emory  College — Plan  for  Relief — Louisville — Letter  to  his  Father. 

He  rested  only  a  little  while  at  home,  and  then  went  to 
Montgomery,  where  he  presided  over  the  commission  in  which 
the  union  of  the  Methodist  Protestant  Church  of  the  South 
and  the  M.  E.  Church  South  was  discussed.  The  proceed- 
ings were  very  agreeable,  and,  though  they  came  to  naught, 
the  commissioners  of  the  M.  P.  Church  were  very  much 
drawn  to  the  bishop,  and  a  hearty  fraternity  was  provided 
for.  He  had  made  arrangements  for  a  visit  to  North  Carolina 
and  hurried  from  Montgomery,  by  Sunshine,  for  Thomasville, 
N.  C,  where  he  was  to  see  after  a  district  meeting  in  June. 
Of  this  journey  he  writes  : 

"  Within  eighteen  days  I  have  travelled  over  a  thousand 
miles,  preached  twelve  sermons,  attended  commencement  at 
Trinity  College,  presided  at  a  district  meeting,  and  seen  and 
heard  much  to  encourage  my  heart  and  hopes. 

"  Work  is  wholesome,  it  is  physic  and  physician  in  one  ; 
the  most  ailments,  mental  or  bodily,  yield  to  practice. 

"  It  was  exceedingly  pleasant  to  find  myself  in  a  land  of 
plenty.  The  people  there  have  not  known  want,  and  their 
prospects  for  the  future  are  very  cheering  ;  wheat-crops  large, 
oats  the  best  I  ever  saw.  ....... 

"  My  congregations  were  large  and  serious  and  seemed  to 
relish  the  word  of  the.  Lord.  I  felt  that  God  was  with  me  and 
I  hope  for  fruit.  I  had  never  visited  that  region  of  the  State, 
and  thought  it  best  to   concentrate  my  labors,  rather  than 


500  Liu  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.       [Ohaf.xvil 

to  diffuse  them  by  merely  touching  points  remote  from  each 
other.  On  our  present  plan,  to  gratify  all  by  a  visitation  i-> 
simply  impossible,  and  it  is  a  question  whether,  after  all,  it 
would  be  better  to  have  fewer  appointments  and  to  stay 
longer  in  one  place.  A  bishop,  in  many  places,  is  somewhat 
of  a  curiosity,  and  the  first  time  he  preaches  there  is  more 
curiosity  than  devotion,  frequently  a  strange  mingling  of  ex- 
pectation and  disappointment — a  state  of  mind  alike  unfriend- 
ly to  preacher  and  hearers.  The  fust  effort  dissolves  the  il- 
lusive charms  which  hover  about  a  title  ;  the  next  time,  the 
man  disappears,  and  his  subject,  his  mission,  challenge  and 
secure  attention.  For  one,  I  cannot  preach  much  at  best, 
but  1  cannot  preach  at  all  unless  I  have  good  hope  of  achieving 
results.  I  never  was  intellectual  enough  to  find  special  pleas- 
uie  in  the  mere  operations  of  the  mind.  I  want  to  see  im- 
pre-  fleets,   fruits,  sinners   awakened,   souls  converted, 

the  Church  happy.  Reputation,  praise,  are  pleasant  enough, 
but  fori  who  would   leave  home,  wife,  and   children,   en- 

counter weariness,  anxiety,  and  a  thousand  discomforts  ?    The 
•  currency  of  these  is  poor  pay  at  best,  and  then  the  tax 
on  the  income.     Deliver  me  !     were  it  not  to  please  my  Heav- 
enly Master,  and  to  do  good  among  men,  I  should  Locate  at 

Sunshine  and  leave  the  fields  to  those  who  are  content  with 
such  v  earth  could  pay.       ...... 

"  It  is  a  beautiful  country.  The  forests  are  magnificent, 
the  people  are  intelligent,  hospitable,  the  churches  strong  in 
numbers,  and  all  the  elements  of  wealth,  power,  and  prosper- 
ity abound  ;  but  that  magical  spirit  called  progress  has  not 
wandered  among  these  hills.  If  he  ever  did,  he  was  on  the 
wing,  for  he  has  left  no  trace  of  his  presence.  The  roads  are 
shocking  :  a  well-located  railroad  in  this  region  would  realize 
Klin's  wonderful  lamp  in  its  effects  on  mind  and  matter, 
capital  and  enterprise.  .  .  ..... 

"On  Monday  at  twelve  I  had  an  appointment  at 
Smith's  Grove,  an  old  camp-ground,  twenty-eight  miles 
distant.  We  set  out  early  ;  the  road  was  wet  and  rough, 
and  weather  bad,  and  our  team,  a  mule  and  a  horse,  faithful 


1867-1868.]         ufe  and  Jiffies  0j  George  F.  Pierce.  501 

and  slow.  We  were  anxiously  calculating  the  time  and  dis- 
tance when  Peter,  the  horse,  broke  his  single-tree,  and  came 
to  a  full  stop.  We  found  we  were  not  far  from  a  shop  where 
the  mischief  might  be  repaired.  I  went  in  to  hurry  the  work- 
man. He  said  to  me,  '  Do  you  think  the  old  bishop  will  be 
yonder  to-day,  sure  enough  ?  '  I  told  him  '  I  thought  he 
would,  but  behind  time,  unless  he  hastened  the  job.'  We 
did  arrive  one  hour  behind  time,  but  found  the  congregation 
patiently  waiting.  It  was  a  real  relief  to  preach  in  the  open 
air  in  good  weather.  I  always  prefer  out-door  preaching. 
The  air  is  fresh,  the  voice  has  room,  the  heart  gathers  a  sort 
of  inspiration  from  nature  and  the  cramp  of  conventionalities 
is  gone.  .......... 

"  He  left  with  Rev.  Dr.  Mann  for  Winston  and  Salem, 
glanced  at  the  Moravian  school  and  settlement,  and  with 
Rev.  Dr.  Ried  went  on  to  Germantown,  and  hurried  to  the 
Dan  River.  The  continued  rain  made  it  indispensable  to 
cross  the  Dan  River  that  afternoon,  as  the  stream  had  to  be 
forded  and  was  already  high.  In  the  morning  we  went  to 
Madison  to  preach.  We  lay  by  waiting  for  the  Mayo  River 
to  run  down  and  allow  us  to  press  on  to  the  District  Meeting 
at  Leaksville.     The  stream  was  wide,   swollen,   and  rushing 

like  a  torrent.     Brother  W ,  who  was  on  horseback,  rode 

over  and  proved  there  was  no  swimming  to  do.  The  ques- 
tion grew  serious  :  '  Can  a  horse  in  harness  bear  up  and  pull 
his  load  ?  '     Some  doubted,  all  feared. 

"  Ried  and  I  were  driving  a  pair  of  mules,  an  animal  I 
don't  fancy  on  land,  and  have  no  use  for  in  water.     '  Try  it, 

B .'     '  No,  sir.'      'L ,  you  go  ahead.'     '  Well,  now,  let 

W try  it.'     I  asked  M if  he  thought  his  horse  Bob 

could  pull  us  both.  I  had  ridden  with  Bob,  and  had  faith  in 
his  strength  and  sense.  In  we  went  and  made  the  trip  in 
safety.  '  Now  for  the  rest  of  you,'  we  cried  from  the  other 
shore.     With  many  misgivings  in  they  came,  Ried  with  his 

mule,  L — ■ —  with    his  old  gray,   and  W with  his    little 

mare.  Presently,  they  strike  the  current,  the  mules  groan 
but  move  steadily  along.     L 's  horse  becomes  nervous, 


502  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.      [Chap.  xvn. 

begins  to  reel,  and  at  last  goes  down  and  the  rushing  waters 
hid  him  from  sight. 

"  '  Come  on,  W .'    He  obeys  with  a  vim.    I  fever  I  saw 

a  man  in  earnest  to    get  out  of  a  difficulty,  W was  that 

man.  The  little  mare  did  her  best,  and  came  over  safe  and 
sound. 

"  In  the   meantime  the  gray,  not  willing  to    be   drowned, 

struggled  to  his  feet  once  mere.     '  Hold  on,  L ,  be  stead}-, 

don't  be  frightened.'  Alas,  his  horse  falls  again  ;  again  he 
rises,  hi-  shafts  are  broken.  It  is  plain  his  strength  is  failing  ; 
without  help  he  We    made   up    a    purse   and  got   a 

negro  to  go  in  to  the  rescue.  As  soon  a-  the  horse  found 
himself  supported  his  hope  of  life  seemed  to  revive,  and  he 
made  a  manly  effort  to  help  himself;  by  leading  him  down 
the  stream  we  at  last  got  him  ashore.  We  thanked  God, 
spliced  the  shafts,  and  went  on  our  way." 

In  September  he  went  to  Kentucky,  dedicated  a  new 
church  at  Louisville,  held  the  Conference  at  Lexington, 
visited  Mrs.  Chevis  at  Science  Hill,  and  went  from  Louisville 
to  Mammoth  Cave.     He  says:  "  Everybody  else  seemed  to 

be  electrified,  awe-struck  ;  to  me  it  seemed  a  tremendous  hole 
in  the  ground,  irregular  in  width,  and  huge  frightful  pits  here 
and  there,  narrow  puss- way  occasionally,  ups  and  downs  with- 
out number;  in  fine,  a  dark  labyrinth,  with  now  and  then 
lateral  avenues  equally  dark,  all  running,  nobody  knows 
where.  We  walked  about  nine  miles,  went  to  the  Spring,  to 
the  Star  Chamber,  the  Bottomless  Pit,  Lake  Purity,  and  sun- 
dry other  famous  places,  when  I  pronounced  myself  satisfied.-' 

At    i  he   dedicated   the    new   church.      The    debt  of 

$600  was  raised  with  but  little  effort,  much  to  the  surprise  of 
those  who  gave  it. 

The  District  Conference  was  a  new  experiment.      He  says  : 

"  My  experience  of  these  district  meetings  confirm  me  in 
my  original  convictions  of  their  use  and  value  to  the  Church. 

"  I  fear  the  Northern  Methodist  missionaries  are  either 
deceiving  or  deceived.  Why  do  they  come  among  us  ?  Bring 
the}-  a  purer  Gospel  ?     Do  they  expect  to  glorify  the  Saviour 


1867-1868.]         Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  503 

by  transferring  people  from  one  communion  to  another  ?  Is 
this  the  way  to  do  good,  to  get  sinners  converted,  to  build  up 
the  cause  of  Church  ?     No,  never. 

"  If  I  had  access  to  the  Northern  ear  I  would  urge  them 
to  peace  ;  let  us  alone  ;  let  us  do  our  Master's  work  in  peace  ; 
let  us  all  pray  for  the  peace  of  Jerusalem." 

His  journey  to  North  Carolina  over,  he  returned  to  Geor- 
gia. He  found  Emory  College  still  struggling  for  life,  kept 
in  existence  by  the  brave  exertions  of  her  heroic  faculty,  with 
Luther  M.  Smith  at  the  head.  He  came  to  her  rescue,  and 
as  he  called  for  help  and  patronage  the  year  before,  so  now 
he  fell  upon  a  most  plausible,  and  to  him  practicable,  plan,  for 
her  immediate  relief.  It  was  for  five  hundred  persons  to 
unite  with  him  in  giving  $20  per  year  to  provide  a  tempor- 
ary endowment.      He  says  in  his  card  : 

"ENDOWMENT   ASSOCIATION. 

"  Emory  College,  long  suspended,  is  living  again.  She  has 
risen  from  the  dead.  Though  stripped  of  her  endowment, 
and  now  bereaved  of  her  president,  her  pulse  of  life  is  strong, 
her  heart  full  of  hope,  and  her  future  bright  with  promise. 
I  propose  to  be  one  of  five  hundred  to  pay  $20  per  year. 
Friends  and  brethren,  if  you  do  not  rush  to  my  side,  I  shall 
be  compelled  to  worry  you  with  line  upon  line. 

"  Be  warned  and  make  haste." 

He  wrote  his  father  after  the  dedication  in  Louisville  : 

"  Louisville,  September  17,  1867. 
"  My  Dear  Father  :  Got  here  Friday  night  ;  received 
your  letter  Saturday.  The  dedication  passed  off  pleasantly. 
I  sent  you  the  Courier  and  the  Journal,  containing  an  ac- 
count of  the  whole  thing.  My  performance  passed  with  the 
people  better  than  with  myself.  Preaching  at  a  District 
Meeting,  with  everybody  on  fire,  is  a  very  different  thing  from 
one  of  these  special  occasions  where  all  is  staid  convention- 


504  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.      [Chap,  xvii. 

ality,  curiosity,  and  the  church  more  anxious  for  a  big  collec- 
tion than  for  conversions.  I  felt  it  very  sensibly,  and  fell 
accordingly.  One  old  brother  asked  me  if  I  always  drove 
people  into  irters  as  <»n  that  day.     I  undertook  to 

present  my  views  of  the  Church,  the  sources  of  vitality,  the 
true  mode  of  extension  and  perpetuation,  with  some  reasons 
for  our  inefficiencies.  I  hit  right  and  left,  and  especially  at 
those  who  resolve  religion  into  fine  houses,  and  fine  music, 
and  great  Sunday  display,  but  have  no  family  altars,  no 
closet  for  prayer,  ami  never  visit  prayer-meetings;  It  was 
gratifying  that  the  spiritual  and  the  wicked  endorsed  the 
truth  -what  the  go-betweens  thought  I  know  not.  The}-  were 
silent,  whether  from  wrath  or  conviction  I  cannot  say.  By 
the  way,  th  .  sermon  in  that  thought.     It  is  a  fact  that 

the  .  and  the  very  wicked  will  confess  and  approve 

the  same  truth,  while  the  loose,  liberal,  fashionable  professor, 
will  deny,  chafe,  and  fret.     'Try your  hand  on  that. 

"I  '  i  I  ■  Kington,  and  hope  to  hear   from 

you  the  : 

month  at  home, he  went  to  Atlanta  to  preside 

r  the  lir^t  session  of  the  Noith  Georgia  Conference,  and 
to  Savannah  for  the  same  work  in  the  South  Georgia,  and 
then  rida,  where  he  wound  up  the  year  I  .'• 

After  a  few  me,  in   March  he  went  on  a  visit 

ida,  taking  the  inland  passage  from  Savannah  to 
Fernandino.     II<  his  journey: 

"The  i  "ranger  a  very  unfavorable  intro- 
duction t  Florida.  The  land  is  poor,  flat,  wet,  cov- 
ered with  saw  palmetto  and  dwarfish  pines,  with  here  and 
there  a  spot  that  might  perchance  repay  the  tiller's  toil,  but 
on  the  whole  wild  and  uninviting 

"  We  looked  into  ever)*  department  of  the  work,  counselled 
as  brethren,  suggested  new  modes  of  action,  revived  old 
ideas,  instituted  better  plans  of  finance,  and  resolved  upon  a 
more  exact  and  thorough  organization  in  everything.  Meth- 
odism worked  by  law  is  what  the  Church  needs.     Much  of 


1867-1868.]         Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  505 

our  labor  is  bestowed  upon  fields  unfenced,  left  open,  and  the 
devil  and  the  world,  to  say  nothing  of  better  folks,  forage 
upon  our  plantation,  and  we  are  left  to  glean  where  we  ought 
to  have  reaped. 

"  We  have  great  feasts,  but  we  do  not  gather  up  the  frag- 
ments. We  have  revivals  and  ingatherings,  but  lack  in  train- 
ing. Our  army  is  not  composed  of  regulars,  but  of  militia, 
unorganized,  independent.  I  long  to  see  our  Church  a  com- 
pact, serried  host,  instinct  with  one  spirit,  every  man  step- 
ping to  the  music  of  spiritual  religion,  living  harmonious, 
not  bigoted,  but  warmly  denominational.  .  .  .  More 
personal  consecration,  more  family  religion,  more  church 
communion  in  social  worship  ;  less  imitation  of  other  people, 
a  revival  of  love-feasts,  with  the  world  shut  out,  the  doors 
closed  against  all  but  Methodists  and  penitents ;  prayer- 
meetings  multiplied,  the  preachers  insisting  more  and  more 
on  the  witness  of  the  Spirit,  all  developed  into  an  improved 
holiness  of  heart  and  life;  these  are  the  sources  of  strength, 
unity,  and  prosperity.  We  need  them  to  save  the  Church 
from  the  schismatic  plans  of  Northern  Methodists  and  the 
subtle  proselytism  of  the  Episcopalians.  These  last,  despair- 
ing of  building  up  their  own  sect  by  conversions  from  the 
world,  are  beguiling  some  of  our  people  by  shallow  talk  about 
succession,  confirmation,  mother  church,  our  beautiful  liturgy. 
Our  young  people  they  are  bribing  with  an  assurance  of 
larger  liberty  in  worldly  amusements,  fasting  in  Lent  pur- 
chasing the  privilege  of  dancing  the  rest  of  the  year. 

"  On  these  themes  the  sons  of  Wesley  have  been  reticent 
too  long.  A  stealthy  foe  is  creeping  about  Zion,  mining  in 
the  dark,  whispering  delusive  tales  to  unsuspecting  ears, 
proffering  a  jubilant  welcome  to  all  deserters.  .  .  .  The 
battle  with  ritualism  is  to-be  fought  again.      .  .  ..       *  . 

"  Our  religion  ought  to  be  more  demonstrative.  We  need 
not  only  the  testimony  of  a  harmless,  consistent  life,  but  the 
audible  prayer,  the  falling  tear,  the  happy  shout,  the  liberal 
hand,  the  readiness  for  every  good  word  and  work." 

He  went  from  Gainesville  to  Lake  City,  where  there  was 


506  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.      tO"±*  XV1L 

a  gracious  revival,  though  he  was  sadly  annoyed  by  the  Sec- 
ond Advent  people  ;   and  then  went  on  his  way  to  Georgia, 
lie  reached  Bainbridge  and  preached  with  power.      He  was 
never  a  controversialist,  but  the  arrogance  of  High  Church- 
ism  had    stirred    him,  and  he  preached  his    famous  sermon 
on  Church  Unity.      He  says  : 

•'  For  once  in  my  life  I  gave  offence  by  a   sermon    I    de- 
livered on  the  true  idea  of  Church    Unit)'.      The   Episcopa- 
lians were  insulted  because  I  denied  their  pretentious,  exclu- 
sive claims.      My  language  was  courteous,  and  I  thought  un- 
it was   Christian.      At    any  rate,  I   do   not  abate  one  jot 
or  one  tittle  of  my  declarations.     I  make  no  apology  for  un- 
covering the  folly  of  High  Churchism,  and,  God  helping  me, 
I  expect  to  ventilate  the  whole  subject  now   and    then,  here 
and  there,  as   I  judge  truth    and   duty.      Ycrily  what  means 
it,  that   Episcopalians   of  high  and    low  degree  can  deride  us 
and  all   non-Episcopal  churches,   and   call    us    sects,  without 
clergy  or  sacraments,  and  set  themselves  up  as  the  Church, 
the    only    Church,    00    man    objecting    to    this    fustian    and 
nonsense,  this  brag  and  bluster;   and  forsooth  if  y<>u   or  I. 
or  anj'  other  decent  man  beg  leave  to  dissent,  or  to  try   by 
scriptural  argument,  by  history,  and  fact,  to  show  that  Meth- 
odism  is   somewhat   too,   then   we   are    ignorant,   vulgar,  ill- 
bred.      Bah  I     On    what   does   this  ecclesiastical    (a-ar   feed 
that  he  hath  grown  so  great  ?     For  one   I  will   not  bow  the 
knee  nor  hail  them  as  older,  wiser,  or  better  than  our  hum- 
ble selves.  ......... 

"  I   hastened  home  just  in   time   to   see   my   sister,  Mrs. 
gins,  die.     The  grace  of  God  was  glorified  in  her.     Just 
before  she  died  she  said,  '  Take  me,  Saviour,  I  am  read)-  and 
willing.'  " 

He  left  Louisville  with  Dr.  McFerrin  ;   went  to  a  District 

Conference  at  Shelbyvillc,  and  went  with  him  to   Paris.     He 

of  the  doctor  : 

*'  Here  Dr.  McFerrin  left  me.     The  doctor's  presence  and 

labors  were  as  precious  and  profitable  to  the   people   as  his 

companionship  was    pleasant  to  me.     I  was  exceeding  loth 


1867-1868.]         [jfe  and  Jimes  0f  George  F.  Pierce.  507 

to  part  with  him.  I  love  the  man,  his  devotion,  his  conver- 
sation, his  speeches,  his  preaching.  In  our  various  wander- 
ings we  often  meet  ;  and  as  often  part  ;  but  I  always  feel 
stronger  with  him  by  my  side,  assured  as  I  am  of  his  confi- 
dence, sympathy,  and  prayers."  Coming  from  the  bishop's 
grave,  sixteen  years  later,  Dr.  McFerrin  said,  in  his  peculiar 
tone,  with  his  eyes  brimming  with  tears,  "Never  can  any 
man,  Smith,  be  to  me  what  that  dead  man  was." 

The  bishop  says  of  Kentucky  : 

"I  have  travelled  much,  even  from  ocean  to  ocean,  but 
never  have  I  seen  a  more  beautiful  country  than  the  region 
around  Lexington.  Indeed,  all  along,  by  Paris,  Mulenburg, 
Flemingsburg,  Mount  Sterling,  Winchester,  back  again  to 
Lexington,  it  is  charming.  .  ..'... 

"We  reached  Flemingsburg  on  Wednesday.  The  meet- 
ing began  well,  grew  better,  and  was  altogether  a  feast  of  fat 
things.  The  baptism  of  the  Spirit  upon  the  people,  the 
shower  of  grace  gently  falling,  all  gave  to  the  occasion  a  zest 
to  my  memory,  at  least  very  dear.  It  was  a  steady,  gentle, 
soaking  rain,  which  percolates  the  soil,  goes  down,  and  comes 
up  again  to  moisten  and  nourish  and  mature." 

He  did  not  like  organs,  but  he  did  like  singing,  and  he  says 
of  Rand  : 

"We  had  many  songs  from  Brother  Rand,  than  whom 
our  Israel  boasts  no  sweeter  singer ;  but  for  the  command, 
'  Thou  shalt  not  covet,'  I  would  envy  him.  I  wish  we  had 
more  Rands  and  fewer  organs.        ...... 

"  I  stopped  to  dine  with  Sister  Brown,  who  gave  two 
thousand  dollars  to  the  Bishop's  Fund  in  Kentucky.  Before 
leaving  I  had  prayer  with  her  and  an  old  family  servant,  and 
read  from  a  Bible  three  hundred  years  old."  .... 

He  went  to  Shannon  to  dedicate  a  church,  and  says  : 

"  All  in  good  taste,  and  everything  in  good  order  but  the 
preacher.  Ah  me,  I  usually  keep  my  troubles  to  myself, 
but  I  shall  not  forget  the  tortures  of  the  hour.  Did  you  ever 
try  to  preach  when  you  had  the  toothache,  not  a  little  sore- 
ness, a  twinge  of  pain,  but  a  sharp,  jumping  pain,  that  shoots 


508  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.       [Chap.  XVIL 

down  and  shoots  across  till  you  don't  know  where  the  pain  is, 
only  you  know  it  is  everywhere  ?     Did  you  ?  " 

He  went  back  to  Flemingsburg,  preached,  and  then  to 
Somerset  by  stage. 

"  Farewell  now,  a  long  farewell,  to  smooth,  rapid  travelling. 
Henceforth  it  is  what  the  people  call  a  dirt  road,  which  means 
rocks,  roots,  gullies,  mud,  hills,  and  hollows,  all  innocent  of 
art  or  man's  device,  save  on  my  route  to-day  where  the  army 

had  given  it  a  touch  of  what  is  known  as  corduroy 

The  Presiding  Kldcr,  Brother  Bosley,  has  a  hard  time,  little 
ministerial  help,  and  some  division  among  the  people  as  to 
North  and  South.  The  last  is  a  sore  evil.  The  day  is  not 
distant  when  they  will  have  houses  without  congregations, 
pastors  without  flocks,  their  wicked  experiment  an  ignomini- 
ous failure,  and  the  memory  of  it  a  sting  and  an  enduring 
shame." 

In  his  third  letter  h 

"The  great  contest  in  Kentucky  is  not  with  Northern 
Methodism,  l>nt  with  Campbellism.  The  silence  of  our  pul- 
pit on  this  subject  i  ing  our  people  into  loose  no- 
tions  of  experimental  godliness.  I  am  no  abettor  of  strife, 
or  even  of  controversy,  but  I  insist  that  ministerial  fidelity 
demands  a  trumpet-voice  against  every  theory  of  religion 
which  ignores  heart  repentance,  the  new  birth,  the  witness 
of  the  Spirit,  and  revivals. 

"  Two  things  surprised  me  very  much  :  one,  that  where 
our  people  have  built  Methodist  churches  they  have  done 
so  well  ;  the  other,  that  there  are  so  many  Union  churches. 
This  is  all  wrong.  Good-will,  fraternal  fellowship,  this  is 
right  ;  but  let  each  one  have  his  own  house  of  worship.  .\w 
you  weak  and  poor  ?  Build  a  plain  log-house,  let  it  be  your 
own.  You  cannot  develop  Methodism  without  it.  .  .  . 
Be  Methodists  out  and  out.  Keep  up  all  our  peculiarities  ; 
preach  like  Methodists';  sing  like  Methodists  ;  pray  like  Meth- 
odists.    There  is  nothing  in  Methodism  to  be  ashamed  of." 

He  winds  up  his  letter  with  a  fervid  appeal  for  a  generous 
contribution  to  carry  on  Church  work  : 


1807-1868.]         Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  509 

"  Train  your  children  in  the  way  they  should  go.  Teach 
them  to  love  Methodism  ;  carry  them  with  you  to  the  house 
of  God,  to  the  class-meeting,  to  the  love-feast ;  keep  up  your 
Sunday-school  ;  buy  books,  give  work,  teach,  hunt  up  the 
poor  and  neglected,  bring  the  outcasts  in.  Pray  for  a  re- 
vival.    Lord  send  now  prosperity." 

In  September,  after  presiding  over  a  number  of  District 
Conferences  in  Georgia,  he  began  his  journey  to  the  West, 
presiding  over  the  Kentucky  Conference  at  Frankfort,  and 
going  from  thence  to  the  newly  organized  Illinois  Conference 
which  met  in  Canton.  He  presided  over  the  Conference  and 
returned  home,  and  made  ready  for  his  Western  tour,  which 
called  him  to  the  Conferences  in  Arkansas.  He  has  great 
love  for  the  Arkansas  Conference  and  the  Arkansas  people. 
He  had  great  confidence  in  the  future  of  the  State  ;  and 
while  he  deplored,  what  he  thought  was  a  lack  of  enterprise, 
he  had  great  expectations  of  the  come  out.  He,  for  the  first 
time,  found  himself  on  a  railroad  in  Arkansas.  The  train 
moved  through  a  great  cane  brake,  and  just  before  he 
reached  his  journey's  end,  ran  off,  leaving  him  to  make 
his  way  through  the  mud  as  best  he  could.  He  was,  for- 
tunately, near  the  place  where  he  was  to  meet  the  preachers  ; 
from  thence  they  started  to  Conference.  There  was  no  road 
— only  a  trail.  Dr.  Johnson,  the  portly  editor  of  the  Western 
Methodist,  was  with  him  in  a  buggy.  In  crossing  a  bayou, 
he  says  : 

"  Just  in  the  middle  we  bogged,  and  Dora,  the  mare,  made 
an  honest  effort  to  pull  through  and  failed.  We  were  fast. 
We  cast  anchor.  Could  we  walk  out  ?  We  concluded  to 
lighten  ship.  One  brother  rode  in  leading  a  horse.  I  re- 
shipped  the  Editor,  who  rode  out  and  looked  back  very  com- 
placently at  my  distress.  Dora,  however,  now  responded  very 
gratefully  to  my  call,  and  I  was  soon  on  dry  land. 

"  We  were  detained  two  days  in  Augusta  waiting  for  a 
boat.  The  boat  at  last  came,  and  we  reached  Duvall's  Bluff. 
We  set  out  for  Pine  Bluff,  and  both  parties  were  bound  for  a 
certain  stand  upon  the  road,   where  we  were  to  spend  the 


510  Life  tin  J  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.      [Chap.  x\n. 

night.  Just  at  dusk  we  overhauled  our  friends  with  the 
carriage  stuck  fast  in  the  middle  of  a  bayou  ;  we  could  not 
cross  either  above  or  below.  By  the  aid  of  a  canoe  the 
ladies  had  been  put  ashore  and  had  footed  it  to  the  stand, 
fortunately  near  by.  Brothers  Field  and  Cobb,  with  the  help 
of  a  youth,  were  vainly  trying  to  get  the  carriage  out.  They 
had  attached  the  horses  to  a  long  chain,  but  the  horses  re- 
fused to  pull.  The  young  man  told  us  if  he  had  Lion  and 
Tiger  they  would  fetch  it  out  with  a  flirt  ;  but  he  had  turned 
them  out  into  the  field  and  he  could  not  catch  them  before 
morning.  Thus  our  friends  were  in  and  we  could  not  get  over. 
So  we  went  back'  in  search  of  lodging,  found  a  house  and 
begged  for  quarters.  The  old  lady  told  us  she  was  not  used 
to  so  much  company,  but  would  take  us  in  and  do  the  best 
she  could.  We  fared  very  well.  In  the  morning  we  all 
assembled  at  the  bayou.  Lion  and  Tiger  were  on  hand  ;  were 
yoked  and  hitched  ;  the  word  was  given,  they  bowed  to  the 
,  but  failed.      The  carriage  v  We  determined  to 

try  our  mules.      A  gentleman    in    a    buggy  had   joined.      We 

made  ai  [mental  trip  with  him  and  succeeded.    Then 

we  took  over  our  own  hacks  after  many  efforts.  The  other 
vehicle  had  settled  down,  and  the  mud  was  very  tenacious. 
To  star:  I  our  faithful  mules.      We  shouted,  geed, 

and  hawed  ;  got  them  all  to  pull  together,  and  thus  came 
out  of  the  slough  of  despond.  All  this  delay  and  trouble  for 
want  of  a  bridge  twenty  feet  long." 

He  spent  a  week  at  home  and  wound  up  the  year  by  pre- 
siding over  the  South  Georgia  Conference  at  Albany. 

lie  wrote  to  Ella  and  Claude  and  the  grandchildren,  as 
well  as  to  his  wife,  on  the  journey.  A  few  of  his  letters  I 
give  : 

"Steami.r  Magenta,  Mississippi  River. 

"  November  28,    1869. 

'•  MY   DEAR   ELLA  :    I   have   written  to   all  but   you   and 

Claude.      As    I    am   gently   floating  down    the    river    I    will 

indite  an  epistle  to  my  darling  first-born.      I  have  liad  a  hard 

trip  this  time.      I  have  been  in  a  new,  wild  country — no    rail- 


1867-1868.]  [jfe  ana*  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  511 

roads,  and  the  common  roads  innocent  of  all  improvement. 
Much  of  my  travel  is  by  hired  conveyances,  just  such  as  I  could 
pick  up.  Weather  often  wet  and  cold.  Have  slept  in  houses 
wellnigh  as  open  as  the  sky,  and  fed  on  the  coarsest  food.  I 
have  just  come  through  the  Mississippi  bottom,  twenty  miles 
wide,  one  long  bed  of  mud  and  mire.  Am  sore  in  back  and 
bones.  Took  a  boat  this  morning  at  two  o'clock,  lost  a 
night's  sleep,  and  am  getting  along  very  slowly.  Stop  at 
every  landing  to  take  on  cotton — have  now  about  a  thousand 
bags  aboard,  and  keep  taking  on.  Expect  to  get  to  Vicks- 
burg  to-morrow  sometime,  next  day  go  to  Meridian.  There 
hope  to  hear  from  you  all  once  more.  I  wrote  Pierce  the 
other  day.  Wish  I  had  him  along.  His  eyes  would  stretch 
wide  with  the  sights  of  this  region.  He  missed  it  in  his 
choice  of  the  Kentucky  trip. 

"  Have  you  received  the  crockery  ?  I  ordered  it  for  you 
before  I  left.  I  hope  you  have  it,  and  that  it  gives  satis- 
faction. Tell  Johnny  that  he  must  get  well  and  come  to  see 
me  when  I  get  back.  Hope  to  be  at  home  by  December 
1 2th.  Oh  !  how  I  long  for  it.  Tell  Carrie  I  will  write  to  her 
from  Meridian.  I  keep  well,  thank  God.  The  boat  shakes 
so,  I  must  stop  writing.  Love  to  all.  Kiss  the  children  for 
me,  and  tell  them  to  kiss  you  for  me.  God  bless  you  and 
yours." 

To  his  Granddaughter. 

"  Steamer  Magenta,  November  28,  1869. 

"  My  Dear  Carrie  ;  The  boat  has  stopped  to  take  on 
more  cotton,  bound  for  New  Orleans,  and  I  will  put  your 
letter  in  with  mother's.  I  wish  you  could  see  this  steamboat. 
I  am  sitting  in  a  saloon  nearly  two  hundred  feet  long,  with 
splendid  carpet  on  the  floor,  six  large  chandeliers  overhead, 
about  sixty  state-rooms  on  the  two  sides — two  berths  in  each 
— a  deck  long  as  the  boat  above  all,  and  below  all  the  machin- 
ery, besides  two  thousand  bales  of  cotton  and  merchandise 
of  every  kind  almost.  We  have  a  barber-shop,  a  kitchen, 
coops   of  turkeys   and    chickens.     Roosters  are  crowing  as 


519  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.      [Okap.  x\ii. 

cheerily  as  in  your  father's  yard  ;  in  fact,  an  outfit  for  living. 
Wouldn't  that  be  a  sight  for  a  little  piney- woods  girl,  who  has 

never  seen  anything  much  finer  or  bigger  than  an  ox-cart? 
This  is  a  cold  day,  but  there  are  three  stoves  in  this  big  room, 
au(\  I  am  sitting  comfortably  at  a  table  by  myself,  far  from 
the  fire,  writing  a  letter  to  my  little  darling  granddaughter. 
There  are  several  families  aboard,  ami  little  girls  are  running 
all  about  laughing  and  playing,  like  Tommy,  Johnny,  and 
Doolie  of  a  rainy  day.  I  shall  have  to  stop,  the  w; liters  (black) 
have  rnmc  i:i  to  set  the  table  for  dinner.  The  cooking  is 
tine.  Everything  good  here.  When  you  sit  down  a  waiter, 
with  a  bow,  will  hand  you  a  piece  of  printed  paper  called  a  bill 
of  fare.  You  will  look  over  it,  and  tell  him  what  you  want. 
Away  h  ■  'ii  he  comes  back  and  puts  everything  down 

ire  you.      Y    U  eat  as    long   as   you    please.      Oh    me,    you 

have  no  such  doings  down  at  Eureka— poor  things.  Well, 
I    had   rather  be   with   you   eatin  >es   than   on   this  big 

boat  with  all  these  fine  things.  I  love  you  more  than  you 
will  ever  know  my  darling.      God  bl 

"  In  much  l< 

■•  '  .l:  \\l»l   \ TIIKk." 

In  May  he  made  a  tour  to  the  West.  The  bishops  were 
to  meet  in  St.  Louis,  and  as  he  went  he  attended  a  District 
Conference  in  Kentucky,  of  which  he  wri: 

"  My  !,  ntment  was  a  District  Meeting  at  Augusta, 

Ky.  Augusta  i-  a  nice  town  on  the  Ohio  River,  and  was 
once  famous  in  the  history  of  Kentucky  Methodism  as  the  seat 
of  a  college,  representing  the  Church  in  two  or  three  Confer- 
enc  -.  Here  Durbin,  Toihlinson,  and  Bascom  once  taught. 
In  1S44  the  Church,  with  a  single  exception,  'adhered' 
North,  and  for  twenty-four  years  the  Church  South  has  had 
neither  name  nor  habitation  there.  Within  the  last  year  we 
have  reorganized,  built  a  beautiful  house  of  worship,  gathered 
together  a  respectable  membership,  and  have  the  promise  of 
prosperity.      Our  m  gracious  one.      Several  per- 

sons joined  us,  and  the  general  effect  was  propitious.     The 


J867-18G8.]  Life  ami  Jimes  of  George  F.  Pierce.  513 

reports  from  the  District  were  encouraging.  Every  Church 
interest  passed  in  review.  The  preachers  and  delegates  were 
in  good  spirits  and  hopeful  of  the  future.  Our  Church  in 
Kentucky  is  waxing  stronger  in  numbers,  more  spiritual  in 
experience,  more  active  in  zeal,  and  it  will  outlive  and  out- 
grow all  damage  from  defection  within  and  opposition  from 
without. 

"On  Monday  the  3d  I  returned  to  Cincinnati  and  took 
boat  at  night  for  Louisville.  Here  I  had  left  my  father,  and 
here  I  had  promised  to  meet  various  brethren  en  route  to  St. 
Louis.  Bishop  Andrew  was  too  feeble  to  go  on,  and  laid  over 
for  the  night.  Leaving  him  to  come  on  the  next  day  with 
Dr.  Redford,  we,  with  Bishops  Paine,  McTyeire,  Drs.  Green, 
McFerrin,  and  others,  took  the  cars  in  the  afternoon  for  the 
great  city  of  the  West.  With  such  goodly  company — over 
good  roads— through  a  beautiful  country,  our  travel  was 
pleasant.  Arriving  too  late  for  the  usual  breakfast  hour,  to 
save  our  friends  from  trouble  we  all  went  to  the  Planter's 
House,  brushed  and  washed  and  ate,  and  prepared  for  disper- 
sion according  to  programme.  Soon  the  pastors  of  the  several 
churches  were  on  hand,  and  guided  us  to  our  various  homes. 
It  fell  to  my  lot  to  inaugurate  the  services  of  the  occasion  by 
preaching  that  night.  My  father  and  myself  were  domiciled 
with  Governor  Polk,  with  whom  we  stayed  during  the  Gen- 
eral Conference  of  1850.  This  house  is  one  of  the  many  pleas- 
ant homes  I  have  found  in  my  pilgrim  wanderings,  and  that 
scripture,  '  into  whatsoever  house  ye  enter  there  abide,'  is  no 
tax  upon  my  taste  or  my  affections,  my  convenience  or  my 
comforts.     '  Peace  be  to  this  house  '  and  its  inmates  evermore. 

"Now  what  shall  I  say  more?  Time  would  fail  me  to 
tell  of  the  Bishops'  Meeting,  the  '  welcome  of  the  churches,' 
the  missionary  services,  the  dedication,  the  laying  of  the  cor- 
ner-stone of  the  new  Centenary  Church,  the  Sunday-school 
celebration,  the  visit  of  the  Northern  Bishops.  Besides,  you 
have  published  accounts  of  these  things.     I  need  not  repeat. 

"  To  all  that  has  been  written  I  will  only  add  that  our  in- 
terview with  Bishops  Janes  and  Simpson  was  courteous, 
33 


614  Life  an  J  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.      [Chap,  xvji. 

pleasant,  and  Christian.  On  the  subject  of  their  mission  we 
had  no  verbal  communication.  The  correspondence  speaks 
for  itself.  The  whole  subject  is  before  the  Church — North 
and  South.  As  the  party  addressed,  your  Bishops  have  an- 
swered deliberately,  with  absolute  unanimity  among  them- 
selves, and  in  doing  so,  feel  confident  that  our  people  will 
approve  their  action.  It  would  be  indecorous  in  me  to  give 
an  opinion  now  upon  the  phases  of  this  subject — past,  present, 
or  to  come. 

"  I  leave  it,  as  you  and  others  find  it,  in  the  two  com- 
munications. There  arc  proper  judicatories  to  discuss  and  de- 
cide the  relationships  of  Northern  and  Southern  Methodism. 
I  hope  that  no  one  will  agitate  the  Church  by  premature  de- 
bate. Let  us  '  in  patience  possess  our  souls'  and  in  due  sea- 
son the  right  issue  will  come  about,  whatever  that  may  be. 

"  After  a  week  of  much  labor  we  adjourned  and  dispersed 
to  meet  our  several  DientS.      I   came   with    my   father 

and  Brother  Johnson  to  .Memphis,  spent  the  Sabbath  there, 
preaching  twice,  and  left  on  Monday  to  attend  the  Rome  Dis- 
trict Meeting  at  Dalton.  I  laving  a  day  to  spare,  I  went  down 
to  Cartcr-ville  to  see  my  brother  James  and  family,  and  spent 
some  hours  most  agreeably  with  them  and  other  friends,  both 
old  and  new.  I  returned  next  day  to  Dalton,  was  present 
at  the  opening  sermon,  preached  by  Brother  Parks,  and  re- 
mained till  Sabbath  night,  when  I  took  the  cars  for  home. 
The  meeting  was  one  of  the  best  in  all  respects.  Over  one 
hundred  delegates  were  present,  and  all  alive  and  awake.  I 
preached  every  day,  as  usual.  Some  bright  conversions — 
some  at  the  altar  and  one  in  the  closet  at  home.  This  looked 
like  old  times.  The  religious  element  was  strong  and  active 
in  our  business  meetings.  On  Saturday  afternoon  for  an 
hour  or  two  we  were  'quite  on  the  verge  of  heaven.'  The 
Spirit  did  not  come  as  a  rushing  mighty  wind,  but  he  did  dis- 
til as  a  gentle  dew — soft  and  refreshing.  Our  hearts  warmed 
and  mellowed  and  melted.  The  Presiding  Elder,  who  is  not 
very  demonstrative,  was  transported  with  joyous  emotion  ;  the 
pastor, though  no  stranger  to  the  melting  mood,  rained  happy 


1867-1 S68.]         iife  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  515 

tears  ;  the  Sunday-school  agent  '  laughed  and  cried  ;  '  '  the  old 
men  dreamed  dreams  and  the  young  men  saw  visions.'  Verily 
it  was  a  time  of  righteousness  and  peace  and  joy  in  the  Holy 
Ghost.  It  was  a  divine  baptism,  rich  in  present  enjoyment 
and  promising  yet  better  things  to  come.  It  was  a  blessing 
which  will  tell  on  whole  households,  and,  I  trust,  on  genera- 
tions to  come.  The  theme  of  conversation  was  the  conver- 
sion of  the  young,  and  the  wonderful  dealings  of  God's  Spirit 
with  children.  Many  facts  and  incidents  illustrating  the  gen- 
eral subject  were  given,  and  all  were  made  to  feel  that  the 
'  little  ones  '  of  the  country  offered  a  field  of  labor  '  white  unto 
the  harvest.' 

"  I  am  busy,  preparing  for  a  long  service  in  Arkansas." 
When  he  reached.  St.  Louis  he  expected  letters  from 
home.  He  was  anxious  to  hear,  and  when  his  mail  came, 
and  there  was  none,  he  was  sadly  disappointed.  Naturally 
impatient,  he  wrote  to  his  wife  a  rather  sharp,  querulous  letter. 
This  letter  was  followed  by  another  the  next  mail. 

"St.  Louis,  May  10,  1864. 
"  My  Dearest  Ann  :  I  have  been  so  disappointed  here 
that  I  have  been  ill-natured,  I  fear.  You  know  my  infirmity. 
The  Lord  bless  you,  my  dear.  I  would  not  bring  a  tear  to 
your  eye  or  sadness  upon  your  spirits  for  any  earthly  consid- 
eration. I  love  you  and  the  children  so  much  that  anything 
like  even  seeming  neglect  cuts  me.  It  is  strange  how  my  let- 
ters miscarry.  Mary's  was  eight  days  on  the  way.  Ella's 
came  in  four.  I  hope  you  get  all  of  mine  ;  I  write  every 
chance.  My  time  is  hurried  of  necessity.  Business,  com- 
pany, keep  me  occupied.  I  steal  enough  to  drop  you  all  a 
line  ;  it  is  the  best  I  can  do.  Shall  have  a  heap  to  tell  you. 
Pa  is  improving.  Bishops  all  here,  but  Early.  Great  time 
yesterday.      Love  to  all  and  most  of  all  to  you." 

His  own  modest  account  of  his  sermon  is  in  striking 
contrast  with  that  of  one  of  the  brightest  men  of  his  time, 
Dr.  Alexander  Clark. 


516  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.      [Chap.  x^'ii. 

"  It  was  our  privilege  to  hear  Bishop  Pierce,  of  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church  South,  in  St.  Louis,  on  Sabbath, 
October  13th,  morning  and  evening.  Seldom,  if  ever,  have 
we  been  permitted  to  hear  so  much  pure  Gospel  compacted 
into  single  sermons.  lie  is  one  of  the  plainest  and  yet  most 
eloquent  of  men.  There  is  no  effort,  no  affectation,  no  waste 
of  breath  or  word  ;  but  from  the  first  utterance  to  the  last, 
the  simplest  Anglo-Saxon  language,  the  clearest  logic,  the 
richest  imagery,  and  the  most  earnest  spirit.  His  sermons 
are  rather  suggestive  than  exhaustive.  He  sends  his  hearers 
away  with  new  texts  ringing  in  their  mind  and  soul,  and  or- 
dains them  all  preachers  to  themselves.  In  the  morning,  so 
like  an  outline  his  discourse,  and  so  anxious  were  we  to  hear 
certain  thoughts  more  fully  elaborated,  that  we  were  impa- 
tient with  him  for  closing  such  a  winning  gospel  scene  and 
story  in  a  meagre  fifteen  minutes  ;  but  when  we  consulted  our 
watch,  lo.he  had  spoken  fifty  minutes.  That  was  preaching. 
We  shall  not  attempt  any  analysis  of  such  a  sermon. 

"In  the  evening  we  were  still  more  pleased  and  profited. 
In    the    splendid    Centenary    Church,  of   which    our    friend, 

'.her  Linn  is  pastor,  we  again  listened  to  Bishop  Pierce. 
His  theme  was  'The   Bi  Life.1      How  he  (cd  that  im- 

mense congregation  !  1  [e  seemed  to  handle  the  very  kernels 
of  the  Gospel.  How  sweet  they  were  to  the  taste.  For  ele- 
gance of  diction,  naturalness  of  tone  and  manner,  and  grace 
<>f  presence,  we  have  seldom  heard  the  equal  of  Bishop  Pierce. 
In  defining  faith,  for  instance,  he  said,  '  Faith  is  not  an  act, 
but  a  course  <>f  action  ;  not  a  paroxysm,  but  a  habit.'  He 
explained  justification  by  faith  in  new  terms,  and  gave  the 
doctrine  such  depth  and  breadth  and  continuance  of  power  as 
to  magnify  it  more  and  more.  This  central  theme  is  the  very 
bread  of  the  Gospel.  It  blesses  day  by  day.  It  is  the  secret 
and  source  of  the  Christian  life. 

"Bishop  Pierce  is  sixty-one  years  of  age  and  resides  in 
Georgia.  His  father,  Lovick  Pierce,  now  eighty-eight,  is 
aiso  a  distinguished  minister  of  the  South,  and  occasionally 
preaches  with  almost  apostolic  power." 


1SC7-1S68.]         Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  517 

He  returned  to  Georgia,  and  after  a  little  while  at  home 
he  made  his  way  to  Arkansas  and  held  a  district  meeting,  of 
which  he  gives  an  account.  To  reach  Jacksonport,  where  it 
was  held,  he  took  a  route  he  graphically  describes  : 

"  Long  years  ago,  when  this  was  a  Territory,  the  govern- 
ment cut  a  path  through  this  boundless  contiguity  of  State, 
and  in  reverence  of  the  powers  that  be,  it  has  been  loyally 
let  alone  ;  no  man  hath  touched  it,  either  to  mend  or  mar. 
But  few  have  travelled  it,  and  these  never  will  repeat  it,  if 
they  can  help  it.  Along  here  a  man  feels  lonely,  even  with 
a  companion.  The  immense  forest,  the  unbroken  solitude, 
the  voice  of  the  wind,  wailing  in  mournful  cadence,  the  stag- 
nant ponds,  the  wide  lagoons,  the  everlasting  shadows  be- 
come oppressive  in  their  dreariness;  one  feels  lost,  forsaken, 
forgotten. 

"  All  was  silence  and  desolation.  One  lone  grave  brought 
a  deeper  sadness  over  my  thoughts  and  feelings.  Who  sleeps 
there  ?     Perhaps  God  only  knows." 

After  this  hard  ride  he  preached  at  night,  and  again  the 
next  morning,  and  left  for  Batesville. 

Then  to  Batesville,  then  Fair  View,  on  the  way  to  which 
they  reached  an  angry  stream,  which,  he  says,  "  We  swam 
the  team  and  cooned  a  pole,  and  crossed."  Weary  he  came 
to  Searcy,  and  preached  ;  thence  to  Red  Oak,  and  thence 
homeward. 

When  he  reached  home  he  wrote  of  his  journey  : 

"  I  have  just  finished  my  tour  in  Arkansas,  and  am  now 
returning  to  my  home  in  Georgia.  In  my  plan  the  district 
meeting  was  to  begin  on  the  night  of  the  23d  of  June,  but 
the  presiding  elder  misunderstood  the  time,  and  began  in  the 
morning.  So,  on  my  arrival  in  the  afternoon,  I  found  the 
meeting  under  full  headway.  There  was  a  fair  attendance  of 
delegates,  and  our  services  were  deeply  spiritual  and  profit- 
able. The  church  was  a  very  small  one,  and  so  the  neigh- 
bors resorted  to  the  old  device  of  a  bush  arbor.  The  weather 
was  warm,  and  this  out-door  worship  was  pleasant  to  the 
congregation,  but  the  wind  was  strong,  and  this  made  hard 


518  Life  an  J  Times  of  George  F.  Pieree.      [Cu.u-.  xvil 

work  for  the  preacher.     Nevertheless  I  preached  every  day, 
and  felt  no  damage.         ........ 

"  After  dinner,  and  much  talk  of  the  olden  times,  we 
resumed  our  journey.  Such  a  road  !  I  shall  not  attempt 
to  describe  it — I  cannot  do  justice  to  the  subject.  There  is 
one  consolation  about  it.  One  or  two  more  heavy  rains  will 
wind  up  its  history  as  a  road.  The  people  must  stay  at  home 
or  cut  out  another  way.  I  and  my  companions  are  among  the 
last  who  will  ever  travel  this  one.  I  passed  over  it  thirteen 
years  ago  with  some  case  and  comfort,  but  the  wear  and  tear 
of  time,  and  use,  and  rain  have  reduced  it  to  roots  and 
gullies  and  holes.  It  defies  amendment.  It  is  done,  '  gone 
up.' 

•'  We  reached  El  Dorado  about  night,  and  were  assigned 
Brother  Smith,  in  whose  house  I   found  a  home,  and  no 
little  kindness.      To  himself  and   wife   I   am  debtor  for  much 
polite  attention.     Ti.  more  than  'a  cup  of  cold  water.' 

The  Lord  reward  them.     The  district  meeting  was  not  so  well 
attended  as  I  had  hoped.    It  was  a  busy  time  with  the  farmers 

—  the  very  crisis  of  the  crop  ;  but  we  had  a  good,  useful  time. 
me  brethren  came  to  see  what  sort  of  a  thing  a  district 
ting  was,  having  a  vague  idea  that  it  was  one  of  the 
innovations  .which  had  crept  in  to  mar  old  Methodism. 
Hut,  on  acquaintance,  they  gave  it  the  right  hand  of  fellow- 
ship, and  took  it  into  full  connection.  One  brother  said 
he  found  that,  except  the  preaching,  it  was  nothing  but  a 
district  class-meeting,  and  he  enjoyed  it  very  much,  and  ex- 
pected to  attend  it  every  time. 

"  From  this  point  I  had  to  retrace  my  steps  by  Camden 
and  Little  Rock.  It  was  the  same  thing  over  again,  except 
that  I  started  with  the  hack,  and  wound  up  with  the  coach 
this  time.  The  only  incident  on  the  way  was,  that  we  found 
one  creek  swimming,  and  the  driver  declared  it  impassable. 
At  any  rate,  the  mail  must  run  no  risk  of  a  wetting.  The 
passengers  were  all  as  anxious  as  I  to  get  on.  So,  after  con- 
sultation, the  four  men  who  were  along  determined  to  wade 
in  to  a  log,   one  of  them  carrying  the  mail-bag,  and  so  got 


1SG7-1868.]         uje  and  Jimes  of  George  F.  Pierce.  519 

over.  I  persuaded  the  driver  that  with  the  empty  hack  we 
could  swim  the  stream  in  safety.  I  got  on  the  box  with  him, 
and  we  put  in ;  the  horses  bore  up  well  against  the  current, 
and  when  their  feet  touched  bottom  they  made  haste  to  pull 
us  out,  and  we  all  reached  '  the  other  side.'  We  had  a  rainy 
day,  a  heavy  drive,  and  did  not  reach  Little  Rock  till  near 
ten  at  night.  Stopped  at  the  Anthony  House,  went  to  bed 
at  once,  slept  soundly,  rose  early,  ate  breakfast,  crossed  the 
river,  now  much  swollen,  and  once  more  took  my  seat  in  a 
railroad  train.  What  a  transition  !  How  delightful  to  a 
weary  pilgrim  !  Reached  Duvall's  Bluff  in  good  time,  found 
the  Natoma  waiting,  went  on  board,  got  a  berth,  lay  down, 
rested  well  till  next  morning." 

In  August  he  began  his  journey  to  the  West,  with  Pierce, 
Ella's  son,  as  his  companion.      He  writes  : 

"  St.  Louis,  August  31,  1869. 
"MY  Dearest  Ann  :  Well,  my  dear,  I  left  you  with  more 
reluctance  than  usual  this  time,  and  yet  with  a  feeling  of 
confidence  that  all  will  be  well  with  us.  I  shall  have  a  long, 
hard  trip,  but  I  can  bear  more  hardship  with  less  inconve- 
nience than  any  one  I  know.  I  can  stand  it  all,  if  I  can  be 
useful.  Your  patient,  quiet  submission  to  the  trials  to  which 
my  office  subjects  you,  elevates,  dignifies,  and  endears  you  to 
me  above  measure.  What  would  I  do  with  a  feeble  com- 
plaining wife  ?  You  are  a  blessing  to  me.  The  Church 
ought  to  honor  you  as  well  as  I.  Indeed  your  praise  is  in  all 
the  churches.  The  preachers  often  tell  me  :  '  Bishop,  you 
are  very  fortunate  in  your  wife.'  They  do  not  know  it  as  well 
as  I  do.  God  bless  you  and  keep  you.  .  .  .  Hope  you 
got  my  letter  from  Odin,  111.  I  long  to  hear  from  you  all. 
I  shall  expect  a  letter  by  Thursday.  Love  to  all,  and  to  you, 
my  darling.  Kiss  the  girls,  married  and  single,  and  all  the 
little  posterities. " 

"  St.  Louis,  September  3,  1869. 

"  My  Dear  Ella  :    Your  letter  came  to-day.      Thank 
you.    Sorry  for  George,  but  if  the  arm  is  well  set,  he  will  soon 


620  Life  ami  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.      [Chap,  xvii. 

be  well.  A  child's  bones  knit  very  readily.  I  will  write  to 
Claude.  I  thank  you  for  letting  Pierce  come  with  me.  He 
is  a  great  comfort  to  me.  Behaves  well  and  is  very  obser- 
vant of  things  and  men.  I  thank  God  Carrie  has  come  into 
the  Church.  Do  right,  my  dear  daughter,  and  God  will  give 
you  all  your  children  to  go  with  you.  Pierce  was  touched 
deeply  when  I  read  to  him  about  Carrie  and  Doolie.  He 
was  deeply  affected  at  the  camp-meeting  in  Illinois.  I 
will  write  to  Carrie  as  soon  as  I  can.  Oh  !  that  I  may  hear 
again  this  week  from  home  and  all  of  you.  The  weather  is 
pleasant  here,  nights  cool.  I  have  some  notion  of  going  to 
Utah.  Ask  mother  how  she  will  like  for  me  to  bring  back 
two  or  three  mot  I  may  not  get  as  far  either  in  dis- 

tance cr  matrimony.  I  certainly  do  not  want  to  be  over- 
much married.  Pierce  and  I  keep  well.  I  may  send  a  box 
by  express.  I  have  too  many  clothes  along.  No  room  for 
atnthing.  Love  to  all.  Kiss  the  children.  God  bless  you 
all.      In  haste." 

"  September  13,  1869. 
"My  Dear  Ann:  Preached  here  yesterday  morning. 
Went  to  Westport,  four  miles  distant,  to  preach  ;  at  night  came 
back  in  a  storm  of  wind  and  rain.  Had  a  restless  night,  slept 
but  little.  Was  to  have  left  this  morning  for  St.  Joseph. 
The  omnibus  failed  to  come  for  me  and  so  I  am  detained  till 
the  next  train.  Have  an  appointment  to-night  at  St.  Joseph; 
expect  to  get  there  in  time.  As  I  am  here,  I  will  write  to  my 
beloved.  Time  mellows  my  affection  and  makes  separation 
more  painful.  It  is  my  happiness  to  make  you  happy.  If 
my  ability  were  equal  to  my  will,  you  should  have  no  want 
unsupplied,  no  shadow  should  mar  the  brightness  of  your 
spirit,  your  home  should  be  an  Eden,  and  your  life  a  song, 
cheerful  as  a  sunbeam.  But  I  cannot  do  as  I  would.  And 
sometimes  I  fear  I  do  not  do  as  well  as  I  might.  If  I  fail  in 
anything  you  must  forgive,  for  I  always,  at  heart  mean  well. 
No  man  living  is  more  devoted  to  his  family  than  I.  My  of- 
fice cuts  me  off"  from  intercourse  and  communion,  but  my 
heart  is  always  warm,  and  my  thoughts  always  busy  with  the 


1867-1868.]         Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  521 

interests  of  those  I  love  so  much.  The  present  trip  is  a 
heavy  tax  on  my  feelings,  yet  I  am  cheerful,  always  busy,  as 
I  hope,  doing  some  good.  The  preachers  say  if /would  take 
charge  of  this  Conference  for  the  next  four  years  the  Church 
would  rise  and  shine.  My  style  of  preaching  seems  to  be 
brand  new  to  them.  Lord  help  me  to  do  my  duty  !  I  have 
the  prospect  of  a  very  pleasant  arrangement  for  my  trip  to 
the  Indian  Nation.  We  are  making  up  a  team  and  propose 
to  camp  out.  Pierce  is  delighted  with  the  prospect.  We 
are  cut  out  of  our  jaunt  on  the  Plains.  Sorry  on  his  account. 
But  we  have  a  travel  of  several  hundred  miles  ahead,  through 
Kansas  and  the  Indian  Territory.  He  is  keeping  a  journal ; 
a  rare  production.  I  think  he  will  be  happy  when  we  turn 
our  faces  homeward.  He  is  a  great  comfort  to  me  ;  sticks 
close  to  me  all  the  time." 

"  Kansas  City,  September  13,  1869. 

"  My  Dear  Claude  :  I  have  been  intending  to  write  to 
you  particularly  ever  since  I  heard  of  George's  accident.  But 
the  next  letter  assured  me  he  was  doing  as  well  as  could  be 
expected,  and  so  I  was  not  hurried  to  address  you  a  zvord  of 
comfort.  Only  be  careful  he  does  not  hurt  his  arm,  and  he 
will  be  well  in  a  month.  I  have  sent  him  a  nice  suit  for 
winter.  I  hope  they  will  fit  him.  It  was  a  guess  as  to  size. 
Trust  they  will  strike  his  fancy  and  serve  him  well. 

"  Human  life  has  many  shadows,  and  they  are  projected 
sometimes  very  suddenly  across  our  path.  You  may  look 
for  them,  not  by  way  of  anticipation,  but  as  the  incidents  of 
trial  and  discipline.  Let  them  come,  but  do  not  fret  or  re- 
pine. Remedy  promptly  what  you  can — endure  patiently 
what  you  must.  Indulge  no  feeling  which  makes  yon  unhappy. 
Adopt  no  opinion  which  excites,  irritates,  or  depresses.  It  is 
our  duty  to  be  as  happy  as  we  can.  If  there  be  a  shadow, 
there  must  be  light  somewhere.  The  one  implies  the  other. 
Do  not  linger.  Make  haste  into  the  sunshine.  '  Let  the 
dead  bury  their  dead.'  It  is  sad  work  anyhow.  There  are 
always  other  duties  to  occupy  us.     Devote  yourself  to  them, 


522  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.      LChap.  xvil 

and  in  occupancy  of  time  and  thought  forget  the  trouble  that 
would  make  you  wretched.  Accept  all  the  appointments  of 
Providence.  Id  the  line  of  the  Divine  will  there  is  always 
more  enjoyment  than  could  be  found  in  any  imaginary  state 
of  things.  You  have  a  good,  kind  husband,  lovely  children, 
are  too  poor  to  be  luxurious  and  vain,  too  rich  to  suffer  se- 
rious want,  and  on  the  whole  have  a  fine  chance  for  happi- 
ness. Pure  religion  and  enough  of  it  will  fill  up  all  the 
chinks.  How  much  your  father  loves  you  perhaps  you  will 
never  know.  Whatever  he  can  do  to  make  you  good,  happy, 
blest,  will  always  be  done. 

"  Write  me  a  long  letter  in  about  two  weeks  to  Little 
Rock,  Ark.     The  rest  will  write  to  the  intervening  places. 

"  I  have  sent  little  Claude  her  cup  in  the  box.  It  was 
the  best  I  could  do.  Hope  she  will  like  it.  Tell  her  I  have 
a  pair  of  bracelets  for  her  too.  Do  not  let  her  forget  Grand- 
father." 

Ai  Chillicothe,  the  place  at  which  the  Missouri  Conference 
had  its  session,  he  was  taken  with  a  chill,  and  was  quite  sick 
for  several  days.      He,  however,  rallied,  and  made  his  way  to 

tter  Springs,  in  the  Nation,  which  place  he  reached  in  good 
time.  His  successive  letters  give  a  very  satisfactory  account 
of  his  long  and  weary  journey.  The  journals  of  Asbury  and 
McKendree  have  in  them  few  passages  which  tell  a  story  of 
more  heroic  endurance  than  this  feeble,  worn-sick  man  of 
fifty-eight  years,  going  through  the  wilds  of  the  Far  West. 

Coming  to  Northwestern  Arkansas  through  the  Nation, 
he  writes : 

"  BAXTER  SPRINGS,  September  25, 1869. 

"  My  Dear  ANN  :  If  any  letters  informing  you  of  my 
sickness  have  come  to  hand,  I  fear  you  will  be  uneasy.  I 
am  glad  to  say,  although  I  risked  a  good  deal  in  travelling  so 
soon,  I  have  continued  to  improve.  To-day  I  feel  pretty 
strong,  but  suffer  with  neuralgia  in  my  limbs.  I  struck  a 
tri-weekly  line  of  stages  at  this  point  and  have  had  to  lie 
here  all  day  and  two  nights  before  I  can  start  again.     This 


mr, 


-1868.]         Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  523 


is  a  smart  prairie  town,  but  I  think  as  ungodly  a  set  of 
people  as  I  ever  saw.  I  stay  in  my  room  in  order  to  shut 
out  from  my  ears  the  oaths  and  blasphemies  that  abound  in 
every  company.  The  wickedness  of  the  earth  is  great.  I 
wonder  Heaven  does  not  destroy  it. 

"  I  am  sad  to  think  how  long  it  is  before  I  can  hear  from 

you.      But  there  is  no  help.     My  disappointment    at    C 

was  great,  but  cannot  think  you  were  to  blame.  You  must 
have  made  some  mistake  in  the  directions,  or  put  off  writing 
too  long.  No  use  to  complain,  the  milk  is  spilt,  the  sauce  is 
gone.  I  trust  you  all  keep  well.  The  box,  too,  I  hope,  has 
come  and  the  contents  distributed  to  the  delight  of  the 
children.  Bless  their  little  souls,  how  I  would  like  to  see 
them  !     Kiss  them  all  for  grandfather. 

"  Pierce  saw  some  Indians  yesterday,  and  to-day  has  been 
much  excited.  He  follows  them  about  the  street  from  store 
to  store.  He  will  be  tired  of  them  before  the  end  of  next 
week. 

"Tell  Isham  to  fatten  the  hogs.  Give  them  some  cop- 
peras, sulphur,  ashes,  and  salt  once  a  week,  for  a  time  or 
two.  He  must  feed  them  high.  Change  their  food  by  cook- 
ing, or  soaking,  or  grinding.  Give  them  some  charcoal.  We 
have  but  (qw — we  must  make  the  most  of  them." 

"September    27th. 

"After  a  long,  hard,  unpleasant  trip  I  reached  this  place 
(Fort  Gibson)  yesterday  afternoon — preached  last  night  and 
again  to-day.  I  am  not  well,  but  better.  I  have  an  attack  of 
neuralgia  in  my  legs,  which  for  three  days  and  nights  allowed 
me  no  rest.  I  suffered  much,  but,  thank  God,  I  am  easy  to- 
day. Rested  well  last  night.  To-morrow  we  start,  with  two 
or  three  whites  and  six  or  seven  Indians,  for  Ocmulgee.  Have 
to  camp  out  one  night.  Oh,  that  I  had  told  you  to  write  to 
this  place !  The  mails  here  are  as  regular  as  in  the  States. 
God  bless  you  all.  Write  to  Little  Rock  after  October 
loth  till  November  15th. 

"  I  hope  the  children  all  got  their  presents  in  the  box. 


r>24  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.      [Chap.  xvii. 

How  does  Johnny  like  his  cup  ?  Write  to  Fayetteville,  Ark. 
Give  me  all  the  news.  I  long  to  see  you  all.  Heaven  bless 
you  and  all  the  rest. 

"  Fort  Gibson,  September  2S,  1869. 

"Mv  DEAR  CARRIE:  I  have  written  to  you  but  once, 
and  I  will  not  have  a  chance  again  very  soon,  so  I  write  now. 
Pierce  is  in  high  glee  with  the  Indians  and  the  ponies.  He- 
has  found  one  to  his  fancy,  but  the  man  will  not  sell  him. 

"  We  are  now  in  the  midst  uf  the  Cherokees.  In  the 
morning  we  start  for  the  Creek  Nation.  Then  we -shall  see 
them  by  the  hundred.  They  will  be  at  the  Conference  and 
at  the  council,  as  they  c;ill  their  legislature.  We  shall  see 
them  civilized,  semi-civilized,  and  wild. 

"  We  have  had  a  heap  of  hard  travel.  Pierce  stands  it 
very  well.  The  conking  does  not  suit  him  very  well.  An 
old  Indian  woman  told  him  to-day  she  would  take  him  for 
a  Cherokee  boy.  He  blushed.  I  have  been  sick,  but  am 
getting  well  again.      Keep  movin 

"  Tell  mother  I  have  a  nice  present  for  her.  She  may 
guess  what  it  is  till  I  come.  She  will  miss  every  guess,  I 
reckon.  You  and  Doolie  can  guess  too.  Tierce  is  writing  a 
journal  ;  you  will  be  interested  in  reading  it.  He  grows  and 
fatten 

"OCMULGEE,  October  2,  1869. 
"  Mv  Dl  AR]  JT  Ann  :  Here  I  am  in  the  midst  of  the 
Creek  Indians.  They  are  here  by  the  hundred — men,  women, 
and  children.  It  is  Saturday  night.  The  Conference  ad- 
journed this  evening.  Preach  to-day  ;  expect  to  preach  in  the 
morning,  and  next  day  to  start  for  Arkansas.  I  long  for  the 
white  settlements.  The  cooking  here  docs  not  suit  me.  I 
am  losing  flesh  every  day.  I  have  come  down  to  one  hundred 
and  fifty  pounds.  It  is  still  two  weeks  and  more  before  I 
can  hear  from  home.  I  fear  another  disappointment  at  Fa- 
yetteville. It  is  an  out-of-the-way  place.  All  this  is  hard 
to  bear.  I  never  was  more  anxious  to  hear.  Pierce  and  I 
write    from  every  place  we    stop  at.     Hope  you  have   bet- 


1807-1868.]         jjfe  an(}  Times  0f  George  F.  Pierce.  525 

ter  luck  than  we.  I  have  written  to  every  member  of  the 
family  except  Robert ;  will  write  to  him  soon.  I  have  writ- 
ten to  you  eight  or  ten  times.  I  have  had  no  more  chills, 
but  legs  feel  worn  out  with  neuralgia.  The  pain  is  gone, 
but  the  exhaustion  remains.  I  work  as  usual  and  feel  no 
bad  effects.  I  shall  expect  a  pile  of  letters  at  Little  Rock. 
I  want  to  know  everything  about  Sunshine  and  the  family. 
Has  George  got  well  ?  Stir  up  Claude  to  write  to  me.  Ella 
has  done  pretty  well  ;  Doc  is  lazy.  Well,  good-night.  God 
bless  you  all.      Kiss  everybody. 

"P.  S.  Got  back  to  Fort  Gibson  this  morning.  All  safe. 
Just  drank  some  of  the  best  coffee  I  ever  saw.  Feel  better. 
Now  I  turn  my  face  south,  the  way  home.  Two  months 
ahead.      Let  us  learn  to  wait." 

He  at  last  reached  Fayetteville,  and  writes  to  his  grandson  : 

' '  Fayetteville,  October,  1869. 
"  My  Dear  Tommie  :  Grandfather  and  brother  got  to 
this  place  in  good  time.  We  have  travelled  a  long  ways,  and 
have  seen  a  heap  of  things.  Big  rivers,  high  mountains, 
land  without  any  trees,  and  ever  so  many  Indians.  One 
Sunday  grandfather  preached  to  a  thousand.  The  Indians 
were  camped  out  under  the  trees  with  bed-quilts  hung  on 
poles.  They  brought  all  their  ponies  and  dogs  and  children. 
It  was  a  sight.  Pierce  was  all  eyes.  I  wish  you  could  have 
seen  them  too.  Up  here  in  these  mountains  there  are  more 
big  red  apples  than  you  could  eat  in  a  life-time.  Buddie 
eats  three  or  four  every  day.  He  has  not  got  his  pony  yet. 
Both  of  us  want  to  see  you  very  much.  I  hope  you  will  be 
a  good  boy  ;  you  must  not  laugh  at  school.  Study  hard — 
never  miss  a  lesson.  Try  to  be  the  smartest  and  best  boy  at 
Culverton.     We  will  come  back  as  soon  as  we  can. 

"  Your  affectionate 

"  Grandfather." 

"Fayetteville,  Ark.,  October  19,  .1869. 
"  My  Dear  Ann  :  We  reached  this  place  safely,  sound 


526  Life  ami  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.      [CllAP-  XVIL 

in  body,  happy  in  spirit,  yesterday  evening.  This  morning 
received  your  letter,  the  first  since  I  left  home. 

"  Sorry  you  have  been  unhappy  about  me.  I  was  very 
sick  for  three  days,  but  have  had  no  symptoms  of  a  chill  or 
fever  since.  My  travel  has  been  long,  hard,  rough  ;  have 
preached  daily  and  yet  improved.  I  have  lost  flesh,  but  feel 
well.  Pierce  and  I  will  have  many  things  to  tell  when  we  get 
back.  The  trip  has  been  an  advantage  to  him  in  many  ways. 
He  is  fat,  almost  as  thick  as  Lovick. 

"  Tell  Mary  I  think  she  had  better  fix  on  December  14th. 
The  9th  might  do.  I  expect  to  get  home  on  the  8th,  but 
may  fail.  It  is  a  long  road,  and  many  connections  have  to 
be  made.  Glad  to  hear  that  she  is  so  happy.  I  trust  it  is  all 
for  the  best.  I  am  content.  Glad  the  children  were  pleased 
with  their  little  presents.  Tell  Ella  I  have  a  little  present  for 
her.  I  will  explain  when  wc  meet.  It  was  a  curious  cir- 
cumstance. Sorry  my  cotton  is  not  doing  better.  My  fi- 
nances will  run  low  thi^  winter;  but  wc  shall  live,  I  trust.  I 
cannot  do  all  I  intended,  I  fear.  .  .  .  Keep  Isham  busy 
about  the  hogs  ;  they  must  be  made  fat.  Do  not  kill  till  I 
get  back.  We  arc  very  comfortably  fixed  up  here.  Nice 
room,  spring  bed,  good  eating,  pleasant  family.  The  hardest 
part  of  our  trip  is  behind  us.  Some  long  rides  yet  ahead. 
Conference  opens  in  the  morning.  To-day  is  cloudy  and 
cold  up  in  these  mountains.  Much  work  is  laid  out  for  me 
all  along  the  way.  By  divine  help  I  shall  bear  up  very  well. 
Hope  I  have  done  some  good  on  this  trip. 

"  About  fifty  days  of  absence  yet.  It  is  hard  to  bear,  and 
yet  I  am  busy  and  cheerful.  Let  us  all  be  patient.  Time 
flies  apace.  I  will  write  to  the  girls  from  here.  Kiss  them 
and  all  the  dear  little  grandchildren  for  me.  I  don't  think  I 
ever  loved  you  so  much,  or  wanted  to  see  you  so  longingly. 
Pray  for  me  as  I  do  for  you  and  all  the  precious  ones  at 
home." 

He  writes  to  Claude  : 

"  I  have  seen  much  this  trip  of  life  in  a  new  country.  Not 
much  temptation  to  move  in  it  all.      I  have  seen  some  of  the 


1S67-1868.]         jjfe  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  527 

finest  land  I  ever  saw.  It  can  be  bought  very  low  ;  almost 
nothing  when  compared  with  its  intrinsic  value.  A  man 
offers  me  a  thousand  acres  if  I  will  have  it  settled.  Do  you 
offer  ?  Beautiful,  rich,  and  not  very  Jiealthy — can  you  stand 
it  ?  If  we  were  all  there  together  I  would  like  it,  as  a  man, 
but  it  does  not  suit  me  as  a  preacher,  still  less  as  a  bishop.  I 
will  tell  you  all  about  it  face  to  face. 

"  I  have  been  in  the  woods  and  know  nothing  of  the  world 
or  its  doings  for  the  last  three  weeks.  Picked  up  a  paper  to- 
day which  tells  me  that  the  Ku  Klux  have  killed  two  thou- 
sand negroes  in  Warren  County,  Ga.  !  !  !  The  Ku  Klux  are 
growing  savage,  very  ;  I  suppose  Warren  will  have  to  import 
labor  next  year.  Try  to  keep  them  out  of  Hancock  till  I 
can  make  another  crop.  As  Falstaff  said,  this  world  is 
mightily  given  to  lying. — President  Grant!  '  Let  us  have 
peace  ' — Amen.  We  shall  see  what  we  shall  see.  I  have 
heard  some  good  things  of  Grant  lately.  He  has  the  best 
chance  to  be  the  great  man  of  history  of  any  now  upon  the 
stage.  '  What  will  he  do  with  it  ?  '  The  future  will  answer, 
to  his  glory  or  to  his  shame. 

"  Tell  George  he  must  quit  having  chills.  I  want  to  see 
him  fat  and  rosy  when  I  get  back.  Tell  Claude  grand  fardie 
will  bring  her  a  present.      She  must  be  good  and  sweet. 

"  Go  to  see  '  mother,'  as  often  and  stay  as  long  as  you 
can.  Cheer  up  the  dear  old  soul.  I  trust  I  shall  reach  Sun- 
shine by  the  12th  of  December  at  least,  perhaps  a  day  earlier. 
Be  sure  I  shall  not  tarry  willingly  at  any  point.  '  Days  of 
absence  sad  and  dreary,'  that's  my  song  now. 

"  God  bless  you  all.  No  family  ever  had'  a  more  loving 
head. 

"  Peace  and  every  blessing  be  yours,  my  darling  daugh- 
ter. 

"  Kiss  the  dear  children  for  me.     Love  to  Henry  too." 

The  Fayetteville  district  meeting  met  at  Pea  Ridge.  He 
came  by  Bentonville,  where  he  preached  in  an  open  unfinished 
house  to  a  congregation  shivering  in  the  cold  wind.  The 
people  wept,  and  we  may  be  sure  the  preacher  too.     He 


528  Life  and  Times,  of  George  F.  Pierce,      £('1IU'  XVIL 

made  his  way  to  Huntsville,  and  on  the  way  stopped  at  Dr. 
Dailey's,  who  he  says  had  found  Cowper's  Lodge  in  some 
vast  wilderness,  a  boundless  contiguity  of  shade.  His  route 
lay  along  the  hills  of  the  White  River,  on  the  borders  of  preci- 
pices, through  gorges  and  chasms.  He  reached  Huntsville 
and  went  out  to  Ratskin  to  preach,  walked  nearly  a  mile,  a 
great  man)-  people  were  out  to  hear  him,  too  many  to  give  him 
room  in  the  pulpit,  but  he  stood  on  the  floor  face  to  face  with 
his  hearer-.  I  le  had  journeyed  over  hills  and  rocks  and  moun- 
tains for  three  weeks.  He  was  among  the  mountains  of  N. 
W.  Arkansas.  He  says  here  they  raised  the  finest  apples  in 
the  world.  They  were  sent  to  the  Indian  Nation  and  to 
Texas,  and  sold  for  ten  cents  a  piece.  He  reached  Dardanelle 
by  the  4th,  and  Little  Rock  by  the  iSth  November,  and 
writes  to  his  wife  and  Claude  : 

"  DARDAMI  ill  ,   November  4,  1869. 

"  My  DEAR  Ann  :  I  finished  a  trip  of  one  hundred  and 
sixty  miles  in  a  private  conveyance  this  evening,  just  before 
sundown.       I  1   -tilf,  but  well.      I   am  thankful  to  my 

Heavenly  Father.  Here  I  got  your  letter  and  one  from 
Carrie.  Glad  to  hear  that  all  are  so  well.  So  may  it  be  to 
the  end. 

"  Hope  you  went  to  the  fair  and  enjoyed  it.  I  have  had 
a  cold  enough  ride  for  a  week  past.  Have  been  among  the 
mountains  all  the  time.  Real  Arkansas  fare  all  the  time.  I 
have  enjoyed  myself  very  well.  Have  had  no  money  for 
two  or  three  weeks,  and  happily  have  had  no  call  for  any. 
Here  I  shall  begin  to  fill  up  again  and  hope  to  be  full  handed 
once  more.  The  Lord  bless  you  and  the  children.  Tell  them 
all  to  write  to  me.  You,  Ella,  and  Carrie  have  written,  that 
is  the  total  of  my  receipts.  This  is  the  ninth  I  have  written. 
Every  blessing  to  you.     Love  to  all." 

"Little  Rock,  November  18,  1869. 
"  MY  Dear  Claude  :  You   are  last   in   correspondence 
but  not   the   least   in   my  thoughts   and  affections.     I  have 


1867-1868.]         ufe  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  529 

written  to  all  the  rest.  I  intended  to  follow  the  order  of 
nature  and  taken  you  all  according  to  birth,  but  Ann  was  in 
trouble  about  the  death  of  her  child,  and  I  changed  my  pro- 
gramme, and  thus  the  middle  one  got  to  be  the  last.  Well, 
better  thus  than  not  at  all.  Supposing  you  have  heard  from 
me  up  to  date,  I  need  not  refer  to  the  past. 

"  I  finished  White  River  Conference  by  reading  out  the 
appointments  Sunday  night.  Yesterday  I  came  to  this  place, 
and  here  I  rest  till  Saturday.  If  I  had  known  the  schedule 
upon  the  roads  out  here  I  might  have  saved  a  week  and  got 
home  that  much  earlier.  But  the  water  is  spilt  and  cannot  be 
gathered  up  again.    It  is  eighteen  days  before  I  can  reach  home. 

"  I  have  had  a  good  time  all  along  the  line  of  travel.  No 
drawback  on  my  enjoyment,  save  the  sometimes  unpleasant 
duties  of  my  office.  I  have  had  some  tax  on  my  feelings  in 
disposing  of  some  brethren,  and  they  are  hurt  with  me  I 
know.  But  I  am  right,  and  am  sustained  by  the  people  and 
the  Conference.  With  a  clear  conscience  I  can  stand  some 
fault-finding. 

"I  hope  to  get  a  letter  from  you  yet ;  if  not  here,  at  Cam- 
den. Every  spare  moment  I  look  in  upon  you  all  and  find 
myself  planning  for  your  comfort.  When  the  picture  is  all 
finished  bright  and  beautiful  the  sad  conviction  that  I  cannot 
do  as  I  would  mars  wellnigh  all  of  it.  I  will  do  what  I  can 
to  help  along ;  so  be  cheerful,  hope  to  the  end. 

"  Kiss  all  the  children  for  me.  The  Lord  bless  you  and 
yours  ever  more." 

In  good  time  he  reached  Sunshine,  and  a  few  days  after 
Mollie  was  married  to  Dr.  Dudley  Alfriend. 

Bishop  Pierce  was  no  longer  a  young  man,  but  to  those  of 
us  who  had  known  him  all  our  lives  he  never  grew  old.  He 
was  so  bright,  so  vivacious,  so  springy,  he  worked  so  unceas- 
ingly that  he  always  seemed  young  even  to  the  end.  His 
father  was  by  his  side,  still  vigorous  in  mind  and  wonder- 
fully elastic  in  body.  The  old  doctor,  as  he  was  now  commonly 
called,  was  the  oldest  effective  Methodist  preacher  in  the  world. 
34 


530  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.      [C"A['-  XV1L 

He  had  an  appointment  among  his  South  Georgia  brethren 
as  Sunday-school  agent,  and  still  led  their  delegation  in  the 
General  Conference.  lie  lived  now  with  his  son  George,  as 
he  always  called  the  bishop;  they  differed  in  many  points  of 
opinion,  but  their  differences  were  always  harmless.  The  doc- 
tor was  counted  among  the  progressives  in  Church  economy, 
but  was  exceedingly  conservative  with  reference  to  theological 
formulas.  The  bishop  cared  little  for  exactness  of  theologi- 
cal definition,  provided  the  great  practical  truths  of  the  Bible 
were  regarded.  He  had  little  say  on  subjects  controverted 
among  evangelical  Christians,  but  held  himself  to  the  great 
primal  truths,  which  were  accepted  alike  by  all.  When  the 
usta  Presbytery  met  in  his  village  he  was  called  upon  to 
preach  every  day,  and  he  gave  his  daughter,  without  hesi- 
tancy, to  a  good  Baptist.  His  father  grew  more  theological 
as  he  grew  older,  and  delighted  in  profound  Speculation  and 
careful  di  n.     The  bishop  abjured  it  all.     The  General 

Conference  was  to  meet  in  Memphis  in  May.  It  gave  Bishop 
Pierce  no  little  concern.  The  lay-delegate  feature  he  did  not 
like,  he  was  in  doubt  as  to  what  would  be  the  result.  The 
Church  had  shown  its  feeling  toward  the  eliminating  of  the 
suffix  South,  and  hail  refused  to  do  it.  The  bishop  in  Cali- 
fornia in  i860  was  disposed  to  lop  it  off,  the  bishop  in 
Georgia  in  1880  had  no  such  desire.  The  course  of  the  M. 
E.  Church  in  making  a  sweeping  invasion  of  the  South,  and 
in  troubling  Israel,  had  led  him  to  the  decided  opinion  that 
geography  should  control  church  movements  now  as  it  had 
done  always  in  the  past,  and  he  could  see  no  reason  why  the 
North  should  let  Canada  alone,  and  come  to  Georgia,  nor 
why  the  Southern  Church  should  be  more  concerned  about 
the  sinners  of  Ohio,  than  she  was  about  the  sinners  of  Nova 
Scotia.  He  did  not  have  much  confidence  in,  nor  much 
concern  for,  formal  fraternity.  Personally,  he  had  a  very 
kindly  feeling  for  the  members  of  the  M.  E.  Church,  but  he 
was  decided  in  his  opinion  that  they  knew  not  what  spirit 
they  were  of  when  they  sought  to  disintegrate  and  absorb  the 
Southern  Church. 


1867-1868.]         iife  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  531 

The  removal  of  time  limit  would  come  up  again.  He 
knew  that  the  leading  stationed  preachers  were  many  of 
them,  perhaps  most  of  them,  anxious  for  its  removal,  and 
were  not  at  all  willing  to  leave  the  matter  still,  and  the 
course  that  the  laymen  would  take  was  still  a  question ;  but 
when  it  came  to  the  test  it  was  found  the  laymen  were  more 
conservative  than  the  preachers.  The  time  limit  was  not 
removed,  and  the  decisive  rebuke  the  friends  of  the  measure 
received  has  quieted  agitation  from  that  day  to  this.  The 
Northern  Church  sent  two  honored  Bishops  to  ask  for  a  restor- 
ation of  fraternal  relations.  For  true  fraternity  Bishop  Pierce 
had  a  great  longing.  He  was  willing  to  go  as  far  and  do  as 
much  as  any  man  for  that.    So  the  movement  met  his  approval. 

His  old  friend,  Bishop  Andrew,  in  a  speech  of  inimitable 
pathos,  bade  his  brethren  farewell,  and,  turning  to  the  Bishop, 
said  :  "  God  bless  you,  George  ;  I  rejoice  at  your  triumph, 
and  pray  that  you  may  live  long."  At  this  Conference  his 
heart  was  made  glad  by  the  election  of  his  young  friend  Hay- 
good  to  the  new  office  of  Sunday-school  secretary.  While 
Haygood  was  a  young  student  he  had  known  him  in  college. 
He  had  been  his  father's  colleague,  and  the  pastor  of  his 
family,  and  his  son's  classmate  in  college,  and  his  chaplain  in 
the  army.  The  Bishop  had  tried  him  in  very  important 
places,  and  he  had  met  all  his  demands.  He  was  a  very  proud, 
brainy,  young  Georgian  ;  he  expected  much  from  him,  and 
he  was  glad  that  the  Conference  recognized  his  true  worth, 
and  placed  him  in  so  responsible  a  position.  The  Bishop 
was  never  obstinate  ;  and  when  he  found  that  the  lay  delega- 
tion had  come  like  a  sea-wall,  as  a  breakwater  against  dan- 
gerous innovation,  he  was  not  less  gratified  that  some  of  its 
friends  were  disappointed.  At  this  Conference  Dr.  Ino  C. 
Keener  was  elected  a  Bishop. 

He  wrote  home  regularly,  but  we  have  only  a  fragment 
to  Claude  : 

"Memphis,  Tenn.,  May  n,  1870. 

"  My  Dear  Claude  :  .  .  .  Oh,  if  my  power  were 
equal  to  my  will  and  my  affection,  I  would  wrap  your  fortune 


532  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.      [Chap,  xvii 

in  sunshine,  and  the  currents  of  life  should  all  make  music  as 
they  run.  May  your  soul  prosper  in  faith  and  peace  and 
every  good  thing. 

"  Write  to  me.  This  is  a  poor  letter,  but  shows  a  willing 
mind  and  loving  heart.     God  bless  you  all." 

In  the  early  part  of  1870  his  old  friend  Wesley  Arnold 
died.  They  had  moved  side  by  side  for  over  forty  years. 
Arnold  was  not  a  great  man,  as  men  count  greatness,  but  he 
had  a  royal  soul.  For  years  lie  had  a  large  property  for  a 
Methodist  preacher,  and  lived  in  his  own  home,  and  under 
his  roof  his  old  presiding  elder  found  a  glad  shelter.  He  was 
withal  a  simple,  unambitious,  earnest  soul-winner.  He  fell 
at  his  post.      The  Bishop  says  in  his  memorial  note  : 

"  These  bereavements  are  a  terrible   reduction  from  the 

:ces  of  our  earthly  happiness,  but  the  transfer  of  our 
friends  vastly  endears  the  hope  of  heaven  and  reunion.  The 
shadows  are  stealing  over  us,  and  the  struggling  light  of  life 
grows  dim;  but  there  is  a  world  where  the  sky  wears  no 
cloud,  and  the  day  never  darkens  into  night  I  hope  to 
--hake  hands  with  my  friend  again,  ami  renew,  under  the  tree 
of  life,  the  communion  which  for  a  season  death  has  dis- 
1. " 

II  •  returned  from  the  General  Conference  deeply  im- 
with  the  responsibilities  now  resting  upon  him  as  vir- 
tually the  Senior  Bishop  of  the  Church.  He  could  not  but 
see  that  great  changes  were  passing  over  the  Church  as  well 
as  the  country.  His  visits  to  the  districts,  his  close  investiga- 
tion into  Church  affairs,  had  revealed  to  him  the  fact  that  many 
things  he  had  valued  as  all  important  were  being  lost  sight 
of,  and  the  churches  were  making  innovations  which  he  did 
not  think  were  improvements.  This  state  of  things  troubled 
him,  and  he  tried  earnestly  to  correct  it.  It  will  not  be  de- 
nied that  the  Bishop  made  few  new  sermons  at  this  period 
of  his  life,  and  that  his  preaching  was  rather  practical  and 
didactic  than  brilliant  or  declamatory  was  true.  He  certainly 
did  not  aim  at  display  at  any  time  ;  his  brilliance  was  native 
to   his   youth.     Nor   do   I   think  he  especially  curbed  himself 


1367-1868.]         Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  533 

now.  His  plainer  style  was  the  demand  of  his  growing 
years.  His  English  was  pure,  his  thoughts  well  expressed, 
his  delivery  impressive,  and  he  rarely  preached  without  unc- 
tion. Now  and  then  the  old  fire  would  burst  out  and  would 
blaze  with  the  brilliance  of  other  days.  During  the  year  1870 
he  was  continually  on  the  wing,  rarely  at  home,  always  at 
work.  In  the  early  part  of  this  year  he  sold  Sunshine  to 
Judge  Turner,  his  son-in-law,  and  removed  his  home  to  Bright- 
side,  as  he  called  his  new  place,  three  miles  away  from  Sun- 
shine, and  near  a  mile  from  Sparta.  Mollie  was  now  married 
to  Dr.  Alfriend,  and  lived  near  by.  Ann  was  married  to  James 
A.  Harley,  a  promising  young  lawyer  and  the  son  of  a  Bap- 
tist preacher,  and  a  Baptist  himself.  George  was  the  leading 
young  lawyer  of  the  county  and  a  member  of  the  Legislature, 
and  was  giving  promise  of  great  distinction.  Lovick  was  a 
prosperous  merchant  in  Sparta.  The  old  doctor  lived  with 
the  Bishop  ;  Ella  and  Claude  lived  near  by.  On  the  third  of 
February  of  each  year  he  had  the  whole  tribe,  as  he  called 
them,  to  a  birthday  dinner.  Every  year  the  number  was 
greater,  but  with  him  the  more  the  merrier.  It  was  a  royal 
feast.  Friends  from  afar  came  to  these  birthday  dinners,  and 
Christian  merriment  ruled  the  hour.  Fond  of  his  pipe,  the 
Bishop  and  his  father  and  the  visiting  brother  sought  the 
study  and  smoked  the  pipe  of  peace,  while  the  children 
romped  and  the  good  mistress  of  ceremonies  with  her  benev- 
olent face  beaming  looked  on  it  all.  The  meeting  always 
wound  up  with  the  baptism  of  the  babies  and  prayer  by  the 
venerable  grandfather.  The  farm  being  given  up,  all  the 
power  of  the  man  was  thrown  into  the  one  work  of  oversee- 
ing the  Church.  He  never  seemed  to  tire.  He  would  not 
spare  himself;  he  travelled  by  night,  but  would  not  take  a 
sleeper,  and  sat  bolt  upright  and  slept  as  he  sat.  He  never 
allowed  anything  to  deter  him,  anything  to  discourage,  any- 
thing to  impede,  anything  to  depress  him. 

Sunshine  had  been  a  happy  home,  he  had  planted  all  the 
trees  with  his  own  hand,  the  granite  hot-house  he  had  had 
built  from  granite  quarried  on  the  place.     The  scuppernong 


584  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.      [Chap.  XVH 

arbor  had  grown  from  the  vine  he  had  planted  years  before, 
but  it  was  to  be  the  home  of  his  first-born,  and  he  was  not  to 
be  far  away. 

In  April  he  visited  Broad  River  Circuit,  in  Wilkes  County, 
to  dedicate  the  new  church  built  at  Independence.  This 
church  was  in  his  first  district,  and  again  in  his  second,  and 
vras  in  one  of  the  best  neighborhoods  in  the  State.  His  young 
friend  John  \V.  Hiedt,  now  chancellor  of  the  Southwestern 
University,  was  on  the  circuit.  He  had  but  a  short  time  be- 
fore this  left  his  law  office  for  the  pulpit.  He  had  been  doing 
very  hard  and  very  useful  work. 

The  Bishop  says  : 

"  To  do  Brother  Hiedt  justice  he  may  be  a  great  preacher, 
I  do  not  know,  I  never  heard  him  ;  but  he  is  great  in  the  only 
sense  that  is  of  much  value  to  the  Church.  He  is  doing  good, 
leading  men  to  repentance  and  a  new  life,  and  adding  them 
to  the  hosts  of  V.\  :i.  What  of  all  preaching  that  falls  short  of 
this  ?     Oh  what  ? 

••  1  will  only  add,  we  had  good  old  Methodist  singing;  it 

was  refreshing.      I  have  seen  many  a  sermon  beat  in  its  moral 

>ng.     The  sermon  was  droughty,   but  the   song 

i  -hower  ;  but  under  the  new  ways  I  have  never  seen  a 

congregation  subdued,  melted,  or  happy,  and  I  never  expect 

to.      I  have   heard  and  seen  a  good  deal  of  mental  phrenzy 

about  the  alto,  and  the  basso,  and  the  soprano,   but  I   never 

any  penitential  tears.    I  am  not  old  enough  or  fool  enough 

to  be  a  fogy,  but  I  am  afraid  I  shall  outlive  some  things  that 

are  vital  to  aggressive  Methodism." 

r  he  returned  home  he  prepared  for  a  journey  to 
the  northeastern  section  of  the  State,  a  section  he  had  never 
as  yet  visited.  The  Rev.  John  H.  Grogan,  at  that  time  a 
local  preacher,  though  he  had  been  for  years  in  the  active 
work,  met  him  at  the  railroad,  and  took  him  in  his  buggy  for 
a  long  tour.  He  began  his  journey  proper  in  the  County  of 
Elbert,  in  which  Bishop  Andrew  was  born,  and  at  the  old 
Bethlehem  Church  where  Bishop  Asbury  used  to  preach  ;  he 
says  of  it : 


1867-1868.]         Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  535 

"The  house  was  old,  somewhat  out  of  joint,  and  the  pul- 
pit a  nondescript  thing,  hard  to  get  in  or  out  of,  a  close  fit  for 
a  large  man." 

He  noticed  a  stove  sitting  in  the  aisle,  and  asked  why  it 
was  there.  They  told  him  they  had  not  yet  decided  to  bring 
it  in,  nor  where  to  put  it.  He,  however,  gave  these  good 
people  a  lecture  on  a  new  church,  which  has  long  since  borne 
its  fruit,  for  there  are  few  better  country  churches  than  Beth- 
lehem is  now.  Going  to  Hartwell,  and  stopping  at  the  base 
of  the  Curahee,  with  a  clever  host,  he  made  his  way  through 
the  hills  of  Habersham.  He  reached  a  country  church  where 
he  preached  by  the  dim  light  of  two  tallow  candles.  He  did 
not  specially  complain  of  Ebenezer,  but  writes  to  the  churches 
a  homily  on  providing  light : 

"  Preaching  is  not  the  work  of  darkness,  our  churches 
ought  to  shine.  Trim  the  lamps,  snuff  the  candles,  get  more 
of  them  ;  light  is  a  means  of  grace,  a  symbol  of  truth." 

He  went  from  Ebenezer  to  Tallulah  Falls.  He  says  he 
was  disappointed  ;  it  was  not  what  he  expected  to  see.  This, 
however,  was  not  the  fault  of  this  wondrous  spectacle.  He 
had  simply  a  wrong  idea  of  what  it  was.  His  description  of 
it,  however,  as  it  is,  is  one  of  the  finest  which  has  fallen  from 
his  pen.      He  says  : 

"  The  scene  is  weird  and  terrible.  The  walls  of  rock  on 
either  side  the  stream,  the  altitude  when  you  look  up  from 
below,  and  the  abysmal  depths  when  you  gaze  downward, 
the  roar  and  foam  of  the  tumbling  waters,  the  awful  solitude, 
all  combine  to  make  the  place  worth  visiting.  In  peril  of 
life  and  limb  you  must  go  down  the  precipitous  side  of  the 
yawning  chasm,  stand  awhile  amid  its  mist  and  spray,  as 
the  firm  rock  hurls  back  the  current  as  it  comes,  charging  like 
a  Mameluke,  and  then  crawl  back  with  panting  breath,  and, 
when  wearied  and  exhausted  you  reach  the  top,  you  will  feel 
like  you  have  been  somewhere  and  seen  something." 

Leaving  Tallulah  he  rode  along  the  wild  banks  of  Tiger- 
tail  Creek,  and  over  the  hills  which  separate  the  valleys,  into 
the  beautiful  little  valley  in  which  the  small  village  of  Clay- 


536  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.      [Cuap.  xvu 

ton  is  located.  Here  he  found  the  crowd  so  great  that  no 
church  could  hold  them,  and  he  preached  under  an  oak. 
After  preaching  he  was  requested  to  make  an  address  at 
the  laying  of  a  corner-stone  of  a  Masonic  lodge.  He  found 
himself,  for  the  first  time  perhaps  in  his  life,  entirely  out  of 
material  for  a  speech.  He,  however,  mounted  the  rock  which 
was  to  be  his  rostrum,  when  a  sudden  shower  relieved  the  em- 
barrassment, and  the  speech  was  not  made.  They  told  him  the 
Tallulah  could  not  be  crossed,  but  he  rode  on  and  crossed 
it  on  horseback  ;  and  after  making  quite  a  detour  they  crossed 
an  angry  creek,  and  he  reached  his  preaching-place.  He 
heard  some  one  preaching.  It  was  a  Baptist  preacher,  who 
had  ridden  twenty-five  miles  to  see  and  hear  the  Bishop. 
"We  marched  in.*'  said  the  Bishop,  "four  of  us.  The 
brother  in  the  pulpit,  like  Zachariah  when  he  had  seen  a  vi- 
sion, made  haste  to  come  down.  I  went  into  the  pulpit,  and 
for  the  first  time  in  my  life,  without  singing  or  prayer,  began 
t<>  preach.  There  was  a  good  time,  shaking  hands  and  shouts 
of  victory.  I  went  home  with  Brother  Robertson,  but  the 
rain  continued  t  i  fall.       It  rained  ami  rained." 

the  clouds   lifted  he  went  to  Nacoochcc,  and 

iched  in  this  charming  and  beautiful  valley  ;  then  came 
by  Clarkcsvillc  and  Carnesville,  past  the  historic  Salem 
Church,  in  which  the  family  of  William  J.  Parks  used  to  wor- 
ship. He  says,  as  suggested  by  something  which  occurred  in 
one  of  these  country  churches, 

"  Preachers  are  corrupted,  churches  ruined,  by  big  ser- 
mons, which  accomplish  nothing.  I  want  the  bolt  that 
strikes  and  rends  and  burns.  What  of  grace,  style,  and 
elocution,  if  penitence  sheds  no  tears,  and  faith  feels  no 
rapture.  The  sermon  which  bears  fruit  will  do  very  well, 
while  the  grandest  intellectual  effort  which  leaves  a  congrega- 
tion without  conviction  is  a  failure,  splendid  perhaps,  but  a 
failure  still." 

lie  had  now  almost  completed  his  circuit,  and  from 
Brother  Sander's,   near   Danielsville,  a  ride  of  twenty  miles 

r  rough  roads  would  bring  him  to  the  railway  in  time  for 
the  morning  train.     So  rising  at    one   o'clock    he  made  his 


1S67-186&]  nfe  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  537 

way  to  Athens.  To  one  who  has  never  travelled  over  these 
rqads  and  known  something  of  these  streams,  the  story  of 
the  Bishop's  journey,  as  told  by  him,  will  give  but  a  faint  im- 
pression of  the  labor  undergone  and  the  privation  endured. 

He  made  a  visit  to  South  Carolina,  and  returned  by  Au- 
gusta, where  his  brother-in-law,  Dr.  Mann,  was  in  charge  of 
the  church.  He  stopped  with  him  a  few  days  and  preached. 
The  great  crowds  who  used  to  throng  the  church  in  his  early 
and  later  ministry  were  missing  now,  and  he  says  : 

"The  four  years'  rule  and  the  organized  choir  have  well 
nigh  ruined  one  of  the  finest  churches  in  the  State."  After 
a  little  while  at  home  he  visited  his  old  friend,  Ferdinand 
Phinizy,  and  went  with  him  to  an  appointment  at  Prospect, 
in  Clarke  County,  a  church  in  which  he  had  preached  in  1830 
before  he  entered  the  Conference,  when  Prospect  was  an 
appointment  on  the  Appalachee  Circuit.  He  went  up  to  the 
church  in  which  John  W.  Glenn's  family  used  to  worship, 
and  preached  there  and  at  Homer,  a  small  hamlet  in  Banks. 

In  August  he  went  over  to  the  camp-meeting  at  Lincoln, 
John  Knight  was  there.  The  bishop  says  of  him  :  "As  David 
said  by  Goliah's  sword,  '  There  is  none  like  that,  give  it  to  me : ' 
oh  !  if  John  P.  Duncan  had  been  here.  Fill  a  man  with  the 
love  of  God,  thrill  him  with  the  hope  of  heaven,  let  the  Spirit 
bear  witness  with  his  spirit,  there  will  be  shouts  and  tears. 
The  secret  will  out,  the  tongue  of  fire  is  never  dumb,  the 
electric  cloud  will  flame  and  flash  ;  ay,  and  thunder  too. 

"  So  here  we  are.  They  cried,  they  shouted,  they  shook 
hands,  they  exhorted  ;  so  will  it  ever  be,  when  the  Church 
comes  -out  of  her  vassalage  to  respectability.  The  fear  of 
man  which  bringeth  a  snare  has  driven  religion  into  a  corner, 
a  hiding-place,  as  unfriendly  to  growth  as  shade  is  to  vege- 
tation. Organs,  choirs,  and  promiscuous  sittings  have  pretty 
well  petrified  Methodism  in  our  cities  and  large  towns.  Oh, 
that  Methodists  were  content  to  be  a  peculiar  people.  As 
we  assimilate,  our  hold  on  the  masses  relaxes." 

At  Madison  he  found  a  home  in  the  family  of  a  Baptist 
preacher,  his  old  friend  Irvin.  He  says  :  "  I  stayed  with  my 
old  friend  Irvin,  Baptist.     Judah  did  not  vex  Ephraim,  nor 


538  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.      [Chap,  xvil 

Ephraim  Judah.  All  was  love,  kindness,  and  peace.  Relig- 
ion is  religion,  whether  it  abides  on  the  land  or  goes  down 
into  the  water." 

Thus  the  year  sped  on,  and  early  in  November  he  began 
his  tour  of  the  Conferences,  by  going  to  the  Virginia  Con- 
ference at  Lynchburg.  I  was  at  that  time  stationed  in  West- 
ern Virginia,  and  came  to  Lynchburg  to  see  him  and  be  with 
him  during  a  part  of  the  session.  I  found  him,  as  always,  de- 
lightfully genial,  and  especially  so  as  we  were  from  the  same 
heather,  and  I  spent  much  time  with  him  in  his  room.  The 
bishop  was  largely  interviewed,  and  main-  a  tale  of  private 
grief  came  to  his  cars,  but  they  were  never  closed  to  anyone, 
however  humble.  I  lis  presidency  was  the  perfection  of 
simple  grace  and  ease. 

His  sermon  in  Lynchburg  produced  a  great  sensation,  and 
was  the  cause  of  some  expressions  not  only  of  praise  but  of 
mild  censure.  The  arrogance  of  the  pretentious  High  Church- 
men of  the  section  in  which  he  lived  is  in  painful  contrast 
with  the  broad  liberality  of  the  only  really  liberal  diocese  in 
America,  and  as  the  Virginia  Churchmen  had  opened  the 
church  to  the  Conference,  it  was  somewhat  painful  to  hear 
from  his  lips  such  burning  satire  as  was  levelled,  not  at  them, 
but  at  those  wh  >sociated  with  them.      The  next  day 

a  few  words  of  kindly  explanation  calmed  all  again.  He 
wrote  his  daughter  of  a  compliment  paid  him,  but  added,  "I 
send  this  merely  because  I  think  it  will  gratify  you.  /  aui 
sated  with  praise.** 

He  wrote  to  his  wife  and  to  Claude  from  Lynchburg. 

"  LYNCHBURG,  November  14,  1870. 
"  Got  Dud's  letter  last  night.  How  thankful  I  am  to  hear 
of  your  well-doing.  May  Providence  continue  his  blessing  to 
us  all.  I  have  been  very  well.  I  have  been  divinely  helped 
in  my  duties.  I  preached  with  more  ease  Sunday  than  usual, 
and  received,  from  preachers  and  laymen,  a  thousand  thanks. 
I  paid  my  respects  to  '  the  Church,'  and  ruffled  the  feathers 
of  a  few.  I  have  a  good  deal  of  trouble  in  making  the  ap* 
pointments.     Expect  to  be  found  fault  with  by  some.     This  is 


1867-1868.]         nfe  an(i  jimes  0f  George  F.  Pierce.  539 

the  tax  upon  my  office.  Separation  from  you  is  more  and 
more  a  burden  to  my  heart.  The  wife  of  a  man's  youth 
grows  very  dear  to  him  in  the  lapse  of  years.  What  pleasures 
we  have  had.  How  few  our  real  sorrows.  We  ought  to  be 
thankful,  loving,  and  cheerful.  Our  blessings  are  numerous. 
I  see  more  of  this  than  you.  Let  us  thank  God,  and  rejoice 
in  home  and  children  and  friends.  Tell  Wash  to  keep  mov- 
ing as  I  directed.  Have  the  painting  done,  if  possible,  and 
get  Shivers  to  put  up  the  fence.  I  wrote  Doc  all  about  it. 
Kiss  my  children,  one  and  all.     God  bless  them  and  you." 

"Lynchburg,  November  17,  1870. 

"  My  Dear  Claude  :  I  wish  you  to  write  me  at  Greens- 
boro, N.  C.,  and  so  I  bring  you  under  obligations  to  me,  by 
writing  to  you. 

"  I  have  nothing  special  to  say  except  to  tell  you  I  had  a 
pleasant  trip.  Have  been  very  cordially  received  and  kindly 
treated.  My  health  is  good.  My  labors  are  heavy.  The 
care  of  all  the  churches  is  no  small  burden.  Sacrifices,  as 
people  call  them,  I  can  make  cheerfully — mere  labor  is  no 
burden  to  me,  I  enjoy  an  active  life — but  the  main  duty  of 
an  Annual  Conference  is  a  tax  on  brain  and  heart  very  op- 
pressive. But  this  is  my  lot,  and  I  must  stand  in  it  to  the  end 
of  my  days.  I  cannot  tell,  my  child,  how  dear  you  are  to 
me.  Your  happiness  I  pray  for  constantly.  I  sympathize 
with  you  in  your  troubles  you  have  had  this  year.  A  better 
time,  I  trust,  is  coming.  The  day  is  not  distant,  I  hope,  when 
I  shall  be  able  to  give  you  a  practical  proof  of  my  affection  and 
interest.  This  concerns  me  much.  God  bless  you  and  yours 
abundantly.  Be  sure  to  write  meat  Greensboro,  N.  C.  Kiss 
the  children  for  me,  and  tell  them  not  to  forget  grandfather." 

He  went  on  to  Greensboro,  and  filled  his  place  there. 

The  feebleness  of  Bishop  Paine  was  too  great  for  him  to 
reach  the  Conference  in  Georgia,  and  so  Bishop  Pierce  pre- 
sided in  his  stead  in  Augusta  ;  but  before  the  adjournment  of 
the  Conference  he  left  for  Charleston,  where  he  presided 
over  the  South  Carolina  Conference,  and  closed  his  heavy 
labors  for  1870. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

EPISCOPAL  JOURNEYINGS,  1871-1872,  AGED  60. 

Baltimore  Conference  at  Salem— Letters— Through  North  Carolina  to 
rn  Virginia— Letters — Emory  College— Through  the  Valley  of 
Virginia — Down  the  Ohio  in  a  Barge — West  Virginia— Return — The 
Snake  in  the  Car — Address  at  laying  Corner  Stone  of  the  Publish- 
ing House — Views  on  Theological  Education — West  Virginia  Again 
— Raising  Collections  —  Letters — Western  Conference — Letter  on 
Training  Children. 

Ill  was  to  preside  at  the  Baltimore  Conference,  which  met 
at  Salem,  \'a..  in  March.  He  did  not  usually  begin  his  year's 
work  till  after  his  birthday  and  the  yearly  reunion  of  the 
tribe.  Soon  after  this  event  he  went  to  the  Conference  ses- 
sion. The  following  hasty  note  is  so  characteristic  that  I  am 
not  willing  to  withhold  it: 

"March  8,  1871. 

"MY    1  -N  :   Got  here  safely.      Conference  is  full  ; 

am  in  the  chair  ;  write  a  word  while  the  secretary  calls  the 
roll.  Did  you  get  my  note  from  Atlanta  ?  Tell  Wash  to 
wet  the  meal  for  the  horses.  Weather  pleasant  here.  I  am 
well  fixed.  Buckwheat,  good  coffee,  good  bed.  Will  write 
again." 

"  Salem,  Va.,  March  9,  1871. 

"  My  DEAR  Ann  :  A  line  from  you  is  a  solace  to  me,  and 
I  deal  with  you  as  I  like  to  be  done  by.  I  am  getting  along 
first  rate  so  far,  but  there  are  troubles  ahead  of  me.  I  can 
see  the  shadows  as  they  advance  to  meet  me.  I  am  bracing 
myself  to  deal  with  them.  There  is  nothing  more  than  usual 
on  such  occasions.  We  have  just  had  a  dash  of  wind  and 
rain,  but  lo,  the  sun  is  shining  again.     I  am  very  glad  to  find 


!87i.]  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  541 

the  weather  here  very  pleasant.     It  is   a  little  colder  than 
down  your  way,  but  still  very  mild. 

"  Hope  Lovick  and  Wash  are  ploughing  the  earth,  during 
these  good  days.  Tell  them  to  'speed  the  plough.'  Get 
ready  for  me  to  plant  corn  when  I  get  back." 

"  Salem,  Va.,  March  13,  1871. 

"  My  dearly  beloved  and  longed  for  ;  my  joy  and  crown  : 
Oh,  how  disappointed  I  am  to-day.  No  letter  from 
you  or  Doc,  or  any  home-body.  Surely  you  have  written 
to  me.  But  I  will  neither  scold  nor  complain.  I  am  well. 
Hope  to  get  home  Thursday  or  Friday.  Send  for  me.  I 
am  in  trouble  about  my  appointments.  I  shall  get  through 
somehow. 

"  P.  S.' — Hope  you  have  ordered  the  carpets,  as  I  direct- 
ed in  one  of  my  letters.  I  want  to  see  you  fixed  up  inside  of 
the  house  anyhow.  The  outside  I  must  attend  to  when  I  get 
back  and  we  are  all  moved  in.  Let  us  pray,  believe,  and 
hope  on.  Time  is  flying.  December  will  come.  Kiss  the 
whole  tribe  for  me,  and  tell  them  all  to  kiss  you  in  my  behalf. 
God  bless,  preserve,  and  comfort  you  and  bring  us  again  face 
to  face." 

He  had  now  sold  Brightside  and  added  two  rooms  to  the 
old  home  at  Sunshine,  and  was  preparing  to  remove  to  it. 
His  heart  always  turned  toward  the  old  place,  to  the  shadow 
of  the  cedars  and  elms  of  his  own  planting.  On  the  adjourn- 
ment of  the  Conference  he  hastened  to  Brightside,  where  he 
remained  till  the  time  he  had  set  apart  for  his  district-meet- 
ings.    He  says  of  himself : 

"  It  may  be  some  protection  to  my  good  name  to  say  I 
have  not  been  idle.  My  views  of  ministerial  obligation  do 
not  allow  me  to  hybernate  or  seek  mountains  and  springs 
and  ocean  breezes  when  the  Summer  sun  is  burning." 

In  May  he  went  to  North  Carolina,  from  which  he  writes  : 

"  On  my  journey  from  home  to  Kinston,  the  first  ap- 
pointment, nothing  occurred  of  special  interest.     I  was  very 


543  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.     &***•  xvm- 

glad  to  find  the  railroads  from  Augusta  to  Weldon  in  fine  order 
— making  good  time  with  comfortable  cars  ;  but  I  am  sorry 
to  add,  that  passengers  were  few  and  far  between. 

"The  Newbern  District  Conference  met  at  Kinston. 
The  meeting  was  a  full  one,  the  discussions  profitable,  the 
religious  services  impressive.  The  ploughing  and  the  sowing 
were  thoroughly  done.     The  harvest  will  come  in  due  season. 

11  Returned  to  Goldsboro  on  Sunday  night,  and  on  Mon- 
day morning  went  round  to  the  church  and  baptized  nine 
children.  It  was  an  interesting  scene.  There  is  quite  an 
awakening  on  the  dedication,  by  baptism,  of  children  to  God. 
It  ought  to  be  commensurate  with  our  church  membership. 

"On  my  way  to  Edenton,  I  had  engaged  to  preach  at 
oboth,  on  the  Southampton  circuit,  Virginia  Conference. 
Brother  McSparren  met  me  at  Garysburg.  We  spent  a 
pleasant  night  at  Mr.  Gray's,  and  next  morning  went  to  the 
place  of  preaching.  The  crowd  was  so  great  that  we  had  to 
abandon  the  house  and  take  to  the  shade  of  the  trees.  I  was 
wear\- — the  wind  was  blowing  very  strong,  and  I  found 
preaching  hard  work,  but  got  through  without  damage.  I 
am  Strongly  inclined  to  make  out  my  own  programme  here- 
after, and  to  visit  the  churches,  preaching  day  by  day,  leaving 
out  the  district-meetings  except  as  they  come  in  my  way. 
The  present  plan  brings  the  episcopacy  in  contact  with  the 
representatives  of  the  churches,  the  other  would  enable  us  to 
touch  the  churches  themselves,  the  people,  the  masses. 
Which  is  the  better  way  ?  There  is  something  in  this  for  us 
all  to  think  about. 

"  After  preaching  I  went  home  with  Brother  Grant,  and 
next  morning,  he,  McSparren  and  I,  having  doubled  our 
team,  rose  early — travelled  fast  to  intercept  the  steamboat  at 
Winton,  on  Chowan  River.  We  finished  the  trip  triumphant- 
ly— making  thirty-five  miles  in  five  hours.  The  whole  country 
from  Kinston  to  Edenton  is  level — soil  good — crops  fine, 
and  this  year  the  season  is  at  least  two  weeks  ahead.  The 
people  seem  cheerful  and  hopeful  of  better  days. 

"  The  boat  passage  was  delightful.     The  winding  river, 


1871-]  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  543 

the  fresh  breeze,  the  congenial  company,  the  pleasant  con- 
versation on  many  topics  beguiled  the  hours,  and  in  due  time 
we  were  safe  at  the  desired  haven.  Edenton  is  an  old  town, 
looking  out  on  Albemarle  Sound,  and  was  once  a  place  of 
considerable  traffic  and  some  wealth.  The  mutations  of  trade 
have  curtailed  its  business,  and  the  war  its  wealth.  It  is, 
however,  a  nice  snug  little  place,  with  pleasant  society,  and  as 
a  retreat  for  retirement  and  repose,  very  attractive.  With 
the  presiding  elder,  I  was  quartered  with  the  Misses  Bond, 
four  maiden  sisters,  who  occupy  the  old  family  mansion.  The 
house  is  one  hundred  and  thirteen  years  old,  the  material  and 
style  English,  and  all  the  arrangements  in  striking  contrast 
with  modern  fashion.  In  all  my  wanderings  I  have  not  found 
a  more  pleasant  home.  The  kindness  of  the  good  ladies  was 
constant,  unwearied,  minute.  With  pleasure  I  take  them 
into  the  circle  of  my  large  aquaintance  as  cultivated,  pious, 
devoted  Methodists.  May  grace  and  peace  abound  to  them 
evermore. 

"  The  District  Conference  was  pleasant,  but  necessarily 
hurried.  The  only  way  of  access  is  by  water,  the  boat  is  tri- 
weekly, the  farm  business  was  pressing,  and  the  brethren  gen- 
erally had  to  leave  on  Friday  night.  So  we  condensed  and 
adjourned  as  to  the  ordinary  business  in  time  for  the  steamer. 
I  remained  over  with  some  of  the  preachers  and  filled  out 
Saturday  and  Sabbath  with  religious  services.  As  I  could  not 
get  off  till  night  I  went  down  twelve  miles  to  Hertford  and 
preached  on  Monday  at  u  A.  M.  The  full  house,  the  eager- 
ness to  see  and  hear,  made  me  glad  that  I  consented  to  this 
extra  effort.  As  to  the  sermon,  I  have  nothing  to  say,  except 
that  as  I  was  coming  out  I  was  introduced  to  a  Quaker  who 
said,  '  Glad  to  see  thee,  I  like  the  ring  of  thy  doctrine.' 

"  Returned  and  went  forward  to  Norfolk.  Took  dinner 
with  my  good  friend  A.  G.  Brown,  the  presiding  elder  of 
Norfolk  district,  who  always  provides  good  things,  both  for 
hospitality  and  the  palate's  sake.  It  does  him  good  to  enjoy 
and  to  divide. 

"  At  6  P.M.  quite  a  crowd  of  us,  preachers  and  delegates, 


544  Life  and  Tunes  of  George  F.Pierce,    L<''i\r.  xvin 

took  the  steamer  Sue  for  Crisfield.  We  had  a  pleasant 
run  across  the  Chesapeake  Bay  and  arrived  in  time  at  the 
destined  point.  The  steamer  went  on  her  way  to  Baltimore 
and  we  reshipped  on  board  the  Maggie  for  Onancock.  Tem- 
peranceville,  the  seat  of  the  Conference,  was  several  miles 
distant  from  any  boat  landing.  Some  landed  at  one  place 
and  some  at  another.  I  was  beseeched  to  get  off  at  Onan- 
cock and  preach.  I  consented  on  condition  that  I  was 
carried  forward  twenty  miles  by  nine  o'clock  in  the  morning. 
The  bargain  was  struck,  the  appointment  made,  and  I  threw 
in  another  extra  sermon.  Dined  and  spent  another  night 
with  Brother  Bledsoe,  the  preacher  on  the  Pongotuegc  Cir- 
cuit. Everything  here,  the  house,  the  table,  the  beds,  be- 
tokened a  preacher  beloved  by  his  people,  and  a  people 
liberal  to  their  preacher. 

"  By  early  rising  and  fast  travelling  I  was  in  time  next 
morning.      (  >n  tl  '.insular  roads  an  ordinary  horse  can 

make  comfortably  eight  miles  an  hour.  They  arc  level  and 
firm.  In  this  region,  but  two  things  are  lacking  to  make  it 
Overwhelmingly  attractive — good  health  and  good  water. 
This  tongue  of  land,  with  the  ocean  on  one  side  and  the  bay 
00  the  other,  either  way  accessible,  fertile  soil  too  level  to 
wash  and  highly  susceptible  of  improvement,  a  daily  market 
for  everything  that  can  be  raised,  is  well  populated,  and  the 
people  seem  thrifty  and  well  to  do.  They  all  live  by  truck' 
The>'  raise  all  kinds  of  vegetables  ;  but  the  potato  is 
the  staple  crop,  the  Irish  in  the  spring  and  summer,  and  the 
sweet  in  the  fall  and  winter.  There  is  always  something  to 
sell,  and  money,  at  least,  in  small  amounts,  always  on  hand. 
With  the  land  and  sea  to  draw  from,  it  is  a  good  place  to 
live. 

"  So  we  held  our  love-feast  out  of  doors,  in  the  presence 
of  a  thousand  people.  Verily,  it  was  a  feast.  Our  meeting 
all  along  was  a  very  useful  one  ;  not  much  excitement,  only 
a  conversion  or  two,  but  there  was  spiritual  power  and  divine 
influence  at  every  service.  We  were  all  greatly  encouraged. 
The  reports  in  this  district  were  decidedly  the  best  I  have 


187i-]  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  545 

heard  anywhere.  The  work  was  well  organized.  Every  de- 
partment is  kept  up.  The  old  type  of  Methodism  prevails. 
In  many  places  on  this  trip  I  was  impressed  with  the  fact 
that  the  men  and  women  all  keep  up  a  habit,  once  common 
among  us,  but  now  nearly  extinct,  of  kneeling  down  to  pray 
before  they  take  their  seats  in  the  house  of  God.  I  like  this. 
It  is  right.  It  looks  thoughtful,  serious,  devotional.  It  im- 
presses others.  It  strengthens  the  preacher.  These  praying 
people  are  good  listeners.  They  are  earnest,  independent, 
not  afraid  of  the  remarks  of  silly  people.  They  come  to 
worship,  not  to  see  and  be  seen.  Come  back,  brethren  and 
sisters  ;  this  is  the  way,  walk  in  it. 

"  Our  old  friend  Rowzie  and  I  went  home  with  a  good 
brother  Sunday  evening,  and  next  morning  I  preached  again 
at  Onancock.  After  dinner,  with  Brother  Bledsoe,  we  all 
went  aboard  the  Maggie  for  Crisfield  once  more.  The  day 
was  stormy,  wind  and  rain,  and  we  expected  a  rough  pas- 
sage. Just  before  we  set  out,  the  wind  lulled,  the  clouds 
passed  away,  the  sun  shined,  and  all  was  bright,  beautiful, 
and  calm.  How  often,  both  in  providence  and  grace,  is  God 
better  to  us  than  our  fears  allow  us  to  hope.  We  spent  the 
night  at  Crisfield,  and,  on  the  arrival  of  the  Sue,  went  on  to 
Norfolk  ;  dined  with  Brother  Peterson  ;  preached  for  him  at 
night ;  crossed  the  river  to  Portsmouth  ;  took  lodgings  with 
Brother  Judkins.  Next  morning  left  for  Enfield  to  hold  an- 
other District  Conference." 

During  this  visit,  we  have  one  letter  to  his  wife  : 

"  GOLDSBORO,  May  29th. 
"  I  came  back  here  last  night  to  baptize  some  chil- 
dren this  morning.  We  had  a  good  meeting  at  Kinston. 
Preached  yesterday,  ordained  a  deacon — administered  the 
sacrament^  talked  half  an  hour  to  the  negroes,  and  then  rode 
twenty-seven  miles.  A  good  day's  work.  Go  on  to-day. 
Health  good.  Hope  to  get  through  pleasantly.  Old  Brother 
Mann  wants  to  see  you  ;  I  told  him  I  would  invite  you  to 
meet  me  at  his  house  on  Monday,  June  19th.  You  can 
35 


546  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.     [Chap,  xviii. 

leave  home  in  the  morning,  get  there  by  2  o'clock,  and  stay 
next  day  until  12,  and  I  will  meet  you  Monday  night  or 
Tuesday  morning.  Do  just  as  you  think  best.  I  am 
anxious  to  hear  from  you  all.  Write  to  Norfolk.  Love  to 
all." 


He  was  now  constantly  engaged  at  his  work  of  raising 
money  to  keep  Emory  College  afloat.  The  college  buildings, 
never  well  constructed,  had  become  unsafe,  and  he  was  now 
trying  to  build  new  houses.  He  wanted  to  raise  thirty  thou- 
sand dollar^  for  the  work,  and  was  trying  to  gay  as  he  went. 
In  September  his  tour  of  the  Conferences  was  to  commence, 
and  the  first  of  these  was  the  West  Virginia,  It  met  in 
Charleston,  in  September,  but  as  he  had  ahead)-  promised  a 
presiding  elder  of  the  Baltimore  Conference  that  he  would 
make  a  tour  through  the  Virginia  part  of  that  Conference,  he 
began  his  journey  to  Charleston  by  attending  a  District  Con- 
ference in  the  Roanoke  District  in  Virginia.  He  gives  quite 
a  sprightly  account  of  an  interesting  journey  to  the  Charles- 
ton Conference,  and  of  how  he  got  away  from  it. 

"My  first  appointment  was  at  Cave  Spring,  Roanoke 
District,  Baltimore  Conference.  A  very  gracious  influence 
rested  upon  the  congregation,  and  I  learn  that  a  very  general 
revival  has  followed  in  all  the  region  round  about.  From  this 
meeting  I  was  taken  by  Brother.  Ruse}-,  the  presiding  elder, 
in  his  buggy,  through  the  famous  valley  of  Virginia,  by  way 
of  Lexington,  Staunton,  and  Harrisonburg,  on  the  way  to 
\V  dstock,  in  the  Rockingham  District.  We  made  our 
stages  at  convenient  distances,  both  for  our  own  comfort  and 
the  accommodation  of  '  Charlie,'  our  steed.  It  is  a  great  ad- 
vantage to  travel  with  a  man  who  knows  the  country  and  the 
people.  On  this  journey  I  was  thus  favored,  and  learned 
much  of  the  character  and  habits  of  the  population.  We 
were  to  pass  the  Natural  Bridge,  one  of  the  wonders  of  the 
American  continent — a  curiosity  I  had  long  desired  to  see. 
We  were  earnestly  engaged  in  conversation,  when,  to  my 
surprise,  Brother  Busey  said,  '  You  are  on  the  bridge  ;  '  and, 


1871.]  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  547 

pausing,  we  looked  down  into  the  fearful  depths  on  either 
side.  Driving  down  to  the  hotel  to  have  '  Charlie  '  cared 
for,  we  soon  returned  on  foot,  to  examine  the  far-famed  mar- 
vel. I  shall  not  essay  a  description,  and  a  mere  statement  in 
figures  of  height  and  breadth  would  fail  to  idealize  the  won- 
derful  object  to  any  mind.  It  must  be  seen  with  the  accom- 
paniments of  stream,  and  rocky  walls,  and  arched  span,  to 
be  appreciated  !  If  it  were  accessible  by  rail,  thousands  from 
Europe,  as  well  as  our  own  country,  would  visit  it,  and  on 
beholding  it,  every  reverent  mind  would  feel  and  say,  '  Great 
and  marvellous  are  thy  works,  Lord  God  Almighty.' 

"  We  reached  Lexington  after  nightfall,  and  left  early 
next  morning,  and,  of  course,  had  no  time  for  observation. 
So  also  at  Staunton.  On  reaching  Harrisonburg,  I  was  im- 
portuned to  preach  at  night,  but  persistently  refused — first 
because  I  was  weary  with  a  long  travel,  and  next,  because  I 
learned  that  many  were  going  to  Woodstock  during  the  dis- 
trict meeting.  Here  I  struck  the  railroad  once  more,  and 
was  soon  at  my  destination.  The  Conference  was  well  at- 
tended, and  all  the  interests  of  the  Church  were  canvassed 
pretty  thoroughly,  and  we  all  parted  in  hope  of  better  times. 
On  Sunday  afternoon  I  went  on  to  Strasburg,  twelve  miles 
distant,  to  preach  at  night,  and  to  take  an  early  train  for 
Harper's  Ferry.  I  had  but  two  days  in  which  to  reach 
Charleston,  the  seat  of  West  Virginia  Conference,  and  the 
reports  of  navigation  on  the  Ohio  River  were  very  discour- 
aging. I  made  all  the  connections  through  to  Grafton. 
There  I  was  detained  for  many  hours,  and  reached  Parkers- 
burg  just  too  late  for  the  only  boat  that  could  have  carried 
me  through  in  time.  Several  preachers  and  others  beside 
myself  were  left  to  wait  and  hope  for  another  chance.  I  de- 
termined to  go  round  by  the  cars  through  Ohio,  but  the  train 
was  hours  behind,  and  could  not  make  connections.  I  went 
to  the  livery  stable — resolving  to  go  by  land  across  the  coun- 
try— the  proprietor  said  the  road  was  bad,  and  he  could  not 
drive  the  eighty  miles  in  less  than  two  days  and  a  half.  This 
was  intolerable.     What  next  ?     On  returning  to  the  hotel  I 


">48  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.     tCnvr-  xviu 

spied  a  little  craft  pushing  a  barge  (what  toe  call  a  flat)  ahead 
of  her,  loaded  with  barrels.  When  she  came  to  the  wharf- 
float  some  of  us  called  for  the  captain  and  drove  a  bargain 
with  him.  He  agreed,  if  we  would  make  up  a  company  of 
twenty-five,  to  take  us  down  for  one  hundred  dollars.  The 
number  was  soon  found,  and  we  arranged  for  a  departure. 
We  got  plank  for  a  new  bottom,  to  keep  our  feet  out  of  the 
water,  and  laid  one  or  two  across  for  seats,  and  about  5  P.M. 
the  whistle  blew,  and  we  were  floating  down  la  belle  Ri- 
viere. Two  miles  below  the  city  we  stopped  to  coal.  We 
were  tied  to  a  large  log,  which  reached  to  the  bank,  and  thus 
firm  moorings.  This  was  well.  Suddenly  there 
came  up  a  furious  storm  of  wind,  hail,  and  rain,  which  would 
have  swamped  us  if  we  had  been  out  in  the  river.  We  were 
not  wrecked,  but  fearfully  drenched.  We  had  no  shelter  ; 
ral  ladies  w  ,  and  the  pilot's  house  was  resigned 

to  them.  The  sun  went  down  before  the  tempest  passed,  and 
the  sky  grew  dark  and  threatened  another  squall,  and  a  ma- 
jority were  for  returning  to  the  city  and  making  a  fresh  start 
in  the  morning.      The  captain  was  obstinate,  and  determined 

0  on.  About  half  of  the  ship's  company  went  ashore 
and  footed  it  back.  The  remainder  abode  by  the  craft.  It 
was  very  dark.  Neither  sun  nor  moon,  nor  star  appeared. 
Wc  floated  silently  and  slowly  along.  Presently  the  wind 
rose.  The  air  grew  cold  and  colder  yet.  Our  clothing  was 
wet,  and,  of  course,  our  condition  was  very  unpleasant.  Un- 
der the  circumstances  wc  were  periling  health,  if  not  life,  to 
go  on.  So,  after  a  twenty  miles'  run,  we  reached  a  little 
town  on  the  Virginia  side,  and  resolved  to  lie  by  till  morn- 
ing. The  inhabitants  were  all  asleep,  and  we  had  some  de- 
lay in  finding  quarters.  I  slept  with  damp  clothes  on,  and 
found  myself,  on  waking,  with  a  bad  cold. 

"  Next  day  was  cloudy  and  black,  but  we  resumed  our 
journey.  Our  little  craft  was  nothing  but  a  barge  with  an 
engine  in  it,  pushing  another  barge  along.  The  steersman 
was  elevated  in  a  small  covered  box,  and  on  its  side  was 
painted,  in  large  letters,  '  Darling.'     She  was  built  to  run  on 


1871-]  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  549 

some  of  the  small  streams  which  run  into  the  Ohio,  and  was 
engaged  in  neighborhood  transportation.  This  was  her  first 
trip  down  the  river  wit Ji passengers.  Every  settlement,  town, 
and  landing,  at  the  sound  of  our  whistle,  would  pour  out  its 
people,  and  their  merriment,  as  they  shouted  and  laughed  and 
waved  us  on,  was  refreshing.  At  one  place  the  boys  were 
just  let  loose  from  school,  and  their  mirth  was  unbounded,  as 
they  poured  their  jokes  upon  '  my  little  darling.'  The  fun 
and  jests  of  the  shore  people  helped  to  beguile  a  weary  day. 
On  a  low,  hard  seat,  without  anything  to  lean  against,  I 
sought  forgetfulness  of  my  discomfort  in  the  Southern  Re- 
view. 

"  About  9  P.M.  we  came  to  Point  Pleasant,  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Kanawha,  and  laid  by  till  3  A.M.,  when  the  mail  boat 
came  along.  The  Ohio  was  too  low  for  any  ordinary  boats 
to  run  at  all.  This  often  happens  in  the  early  fall,  but  the 
Kanawha  is  always  navigable.  It  was  yet  sixty  miles  to 
Charleston,  and  this  was  Thursday,  the  second  day  of  the 
Conference.  On  my  arrival  at  night,  I  was  glad  to  find  that 
the  brethren,  knowing  the  cause  of  my  delay,  had  met,  organ- 
ized, and  adjourned.  So,  on  Friday  morning,  we  entered 
fairly  on  business.  The  session  was  pleasant  and  brief, 
winding  up  Monday  afternoon. 

"  On  reaching  Gallipolis  the  general  report  of  low  water, 
sand  bars,  and  slow  progress,  determined  us  to  seek  a  land 
route.  So,  Brother  Haygood  and  myself,  with  Mr.  Hard- 
wick,  a  Baptist  minister,  hired  a  hack  and  set  out  for  Hamp- 
den, our  nearest  railroad  point.  We  made  the  connection, 
and  rejoiced  to  bid  farewell  to  boats  and  hacks,  and  slow  mo- 
tion. We  reached  Cincinnati  about  one  o'clock  at  night,  and 
spent  one  hour  or  more  hunting  lodgings.  The  '  Exposition  ' 
was  on  hand,  the  hotels  were  overflowing,  and  '  no  room  ' 
was  the  universal  answer.  Finally,  we  concluded  to  cross  the 
river  and  try  Covington.  Here  every  house  was  full ;  after 
wandering  round  and  about,  we  struck  a  sort  of  a  restaurant 
inn,  and  by  an  urgent  appeal  obtained  the  privilege  of  a 
chair  by  the  fire  till  morning.     The   condition  might   have 


550  Life  and  Turns  of  George  F.  Pierce.     [Chap,  xviii 

been  turned  into  comfort,  but  for  the  blasphemy  of  a  drunken 
fool  and  the  obscenity  of  a  couple  of  young  men,  who  seemed 
to  be  bigger  fools  than  the  drunken  one.  Poor  humanity — 
how  low  it  can  fall  !  How  the  vices  of  civilization  can  de- 
grade it  !  Deny  '  the  fall '  of  human  nature  ?  Why,  it  is 
falling  yet ;  and,  ahead  of  their  kind,  these  fast  youngsters 
seemed  to  me  to  have  struck  the  bottom  of  depravity.  If 
there  be  '  a  lower  deep,'  I  think  they  are  in  a  fair  way  to 
find  it. 

"  We  were  glad  to  leave  next  morning  for  Paris — the  seat 
of  the  Kentucky  Conference.  What  strange  contrasts  I 
meet  with  in  my  wanderings.  Last  night,  by  the  accident  of 
travel,  side  by  side  with  '  human  nature  sunk  in  shame  '  and 
mining  downward  ;  to-day,  with  the  refined  and  the  good — 
a  company  of  preachers,  working  for  the  elevation  and  salva- 
tion of  their  race  ! 

"  1  found  Bishop  Wightman  in  the  chair,  with  a  full  Con- 
ference and  a  crowded  house  before  him.  This  was  the  sec- 
ond day,  and  I  soon  found  that  by  the  magnetism  of  manner, 

ilent,  of  piety,  of  adaptation  to  his  work,  he  had  won  all 
hearts.  Every  visit  I  make  to  Kentucky  gratifies  me.  The 
outcome — the  upward  growth — the  onward  march  of  Method- 
ism is  inspiring.  The  development  in  the  last  five  years 
in  the  tone,  spirit,  enterprise,  and  hopes  of  the  Church  is  re- 
markable. In  no  other  field  is  the  improvement  more  visi- 
ble. For  a  longtime  the  preachers  were  timid,  over-prudent, 
ultra-liberal,  and  they  quietly  gave  the  possession  of  the 
country  to  Campbcllisni.  By  timely  counsel  they  have  been 
aroused  to  the  duty  of  '  banishing  all  erroneous  and  strange 
doctrines,  contrary  to  God's  word,'  and  the  God  of  truth  has 
vindicated  their  testimony  against  error,  by  revivals,  con- 
versions, and  healthy  growth.  Let  them  hold  fast  to  '  the 
form  of  sound  words' — stand  up  for  Methodism  and  spiritual 
regeneration  against  all  the  modern  theories  of  tactual  grace 
and  salvation  by  water. 

"  I  remained  but  a  day,  having  an  appointment  in  Ten- 
nessee to  dedicate  a  church  on  the  following  Sabbath.     With 


1871  •]  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  551 

Haygood  for  my  travelling  companion  (wish  I  had  him  all  the 
time)  I  left  for  Lexington,  Louisville,  and  Nashville.  With 
a  few  hours  to  spare,  went  home  with  Haygood,  and  in  the 
afternoon  left  him  with  his  wife  and  children,  under  promise  of 
joining  me  once  more  at  Lebanon.  On  arriving  at  Lebanon 
I  was  met  by  Brother  Plummer  and  turned  over  to  Colonel 
Stokes,  with  whom  I  was  to  stay  during  Conference.  Next 
morning  the  Colonel  took  me  in  his  buggy  over  a  fair  turnpike 
to  Jacob's  Hill,  where  the  church  was  to  be  dedicated.  We 
went  through  the  usual  services,  collection  included,  and  set 
apart  the  house  by  a  solemn  prayer  for  the  worship  of  God. 
What  an  improvement  our  people  are  making  in  church- 
building  !  The  impulse  is  general.  I  find  it  everywhere.  It 
is  becoming  a  prominent  item  in  statistics.  The  preacher 
who  has  had  no  revivals  feels  redeemed  from  censure  if  he 
can  say  that*  he  has  built  several  churches.  Well,  it  is  a  good 
work  ;  and  I  hope  will  go  on  till  the  whole  land  is  well  sup- 
plied ;  but  let  us  beware  we  do  not  substitute  it  for  better 
things. 

"In  the  evening  returned  with  my  friend  and  host  to 
Lebanon.  In  this  interesting  family  I  enjoyed  two  days  of 
rest,  and  during  the  Conference  felt  as  much  at  home  as  is 
possible  away  from  home.  Very  much  like  and  close  akin 
to  Eden  is  a  Christian  household. 

"  Without  contrivance  or  pressure  in  this,  the  largest,  per- 
haps, of  all  the  Conferences  since  Georgia  divided,  we  had  a 
brief  session,  winding  up  Monday  afternoon.  Gaining  two 
days  upon  my  calculations,  and  learning  that  some  of  my 
family  were  sick,  I  concluded  to  run  down  home  for  a  hasty 
visit.  Left  Nashville  at  9  P.M.,  in  company  with  several 
preachers.  The  last  one  got  off  at  Murfreesboro'.  I  got  two 
seats  and  made  my  arrangements  for  sleeping  ;  very  soon  I 
was  asleep  and  presently  felt  some  one  shake  me,  and  soon 
became  conscious  that  he  was  calling  upon  me  in  an  excited 
tone.  Reluctant  to  change  my  position,  I  inquired,  '  What 
is  the  matter  ?  '  '  Get  up  ;  there  is  a  snake  under  you.'  I 
rose  and  sent  for  the  conductor  to  come  with  his  lamp.     On 


552  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.     [Chap,  xvm 

examination  we  found,  just  under  my  seat,  a  spotted  snake 
three  feet  long.  I  never  saw  just  such  an  one.  We  made 
haste  to  kill  and  eject  him.  There  was  some  excitement 
among  the  passengers — the  great  question  being,  '  How  did 
he  get  in  ?  '  As  he  was  out,  I  was  not  much  interested  in 
the  debate  and  lay  down  to  sleep  again.  One  nervous,  excit- 
able man  was  much  exercised.  I  le  said  we  were  going  to  have 
bad  luck — the  cars  would  run  off — somebody  would  be  killed, 
-ure — tJiat  snake  was  a  bad  sign.  Another  tried  to  relieve 
him  by  declaring  that  the  omen  was  bad  ;  but  as  we  had 
killed  the  snake,  we  should  have  good  luck;  at  least  so  he 
had  always  heard.  I  slept  while  they  continued  the  discus- 
sion ;  but  in  the  watches  of  the  ni<j;ht  my  nervous  friend 
might  be  heard  talking  about  that  snake  and  signs.  He  was 
uneasy.  His  imagination  was  full  of  snakes,  and  the  last 
thing  heard  from  him  at  Chattanooga  was,  '  That  snake  in 
the  car  was  a  curious  circumstance.' 

"  1  spent  two  days  at  home,  ami  returned  to  fill  an  ap- 
pointment in  Chattanooga.  A  new  church  was  to  be  dedi- 
cated, though  not  quite  finished.  The  interior  was  ready, 
and  the  work  done — paid  for.  So  we  had  a  service  morning 
and  night,  without  the  trouble  of  a  collection.  The  house  is 
a  good  one— well  located — big  enough,  even  for  that  growing 
city,  and  does  honor  to  the  enterprise  of  the  preacher  and 
the  liberality  of  the  people. 

"  Monday  went  on  to  Cleveland,  where  I  held  my  first 
Conference  in  i S54  ;  preached  at  night  to  a  good  congrega- 
tion, considering  the  weather.  It  had  rained  all  day — the 
streets  were  very  muddy  and  the  night  very  dark.  I  hope 
good  seed  fell  on  good  ground.  Next  day  left  for  Morris- 
town,  where  Ilolston  Conference  was  to  be  held — preached 
at  night  what  is  called  the  opening  sermon,  and  the  signs  for 
good  matured  in  the  progress  of  the  Conference  into  a  gra- 
cious revival.  We  had  a  good  time  generally — good  Sunday- 
school  meeting — good  missionary  anniversary — good  love- 
feast — good  Conference — good  weather — good  fare.  I  en* 
joyed  the  occasion,  officially,  socially,  and  religiously.     Shall 


187i-]  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  553 

be  glad  to  visit  the  Holston  brethren  again.  We  adjourned 
Monday  at  noon.  I  remained  and  preached  at  night,  before 
taking  the  train  for  Georgia. 

'•  They  have  got  up  a  furor  for  education  among  the 
preachers  in  Holston.  Some  single  men,  after  reaching 
deacon's  orders,  locate  and  go  to  college  for  a  time.  Some 
married  men  have  caught  the  fever.  I  was  threatened  with 
great  embarrassment  in  manning  the  work,  by  the  untimely 
withdrawal  of  preachers.  I  was  obliged  to  put  on  the  brakes. 
Education  is  very  desirable  ;  but  there  is  a  time  for,  and  a 
fitness  in,  things.  The  sentiment  in  Holston,  I  think,  is  un- 
sound, unwholesome,  and  will  work  detriment  to  the  men 
and  the  work.  The  want  in  the  Church  cannot  be  supplied 
by  quitting  the  work  to  go  to  school.  We  cannot  inaugurate 
a  reform  by  beginning  in  the  middle  or  at  the  end  of  a  man's 
career.  Take  the  thing  in  time.  Begin  at  the  right  place. 
Do  not  license  or  admit  on  trial  prematurely.  So  develop 
the  work  financially  as  that  the  educated  men  will  not  leave 
in  search  of  better  support.  As  a  rule,  make  it  the  interest 
of  a  man  of  culture  to  abide  in  the  Conference  he  joins. 
Read,  meditate,  pray,  work  ;  improvement  will  follow  about 
as  fast  as  is  safe  for  most  men.  A  flashy  reputation  is  no 
blessing — not  a  thing  to  be  desired.  After  all,  our  average 
preacher  is  the  man  for  large  results.  Good  sense,  deep 
piety,  fidelity  to  duty  will  achieve  the  great  ends  of  gospel 
preaching.  I  have  no  use  for  lazy,  unimproving  men,  espe- 
cially if  they  be  young  ;  but  I  do  not  sympathize,  as  much  as 
might  be  judged,  with  the  rage  for  an  educated  ministry.  I 
want  the  Conference  mixed — some  of  all  grades,  save  the 
lowest  stratum  ;  for  we  have  every  grade  of  work  to  do,  and 
our  system  is  one  of  adaptation.  Present  plans,  faithfully 
worked  out,  will  supply  the  wants  of  the  Church  and  the 
times.  The  very  considerations  which  are  keeping  educated 
young  men,  called  of  God  to  preach,  out  of  the  ministry, 
would  disqualify  them  for  effective  itinerancy  if  they  were  to 
come  in.  These  must  have  more  of  the  self-denying  element 
in  their  religion,  or  the  Church  must  forestall  the  necessity 


554  Life  ami   Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.     IObat.  xviil 

for  it  by  a  more  liberal  policy  in  the  general  work.  In  a 
strict  Gospel  view  both  parties  are  censurable.  The  Church, 
in  that  she  furnishes  a  pretext  by  illiberal  arrangements;  and 
those  who  decline  service,  by  conferring  with  flesh  and  blood, 
instead  of  yielding  a  prompt  and  self-sacrificing  obedience  to 
the  heavenly  vision. 

"  By  the  failure  of  two  appointments  for  dedication  of 
churches,  because  the  houses  were  not  finished,  I  have  se- 
cured the  privilege  of  being  at  home  for  ten  days.  This  is  so 
unusual  as  to  seem  unnatural." 

It  has  been  charged  that  he  was  opposed  to  an  educated 
ministry.     The  above  will  show  what  were  his  opinions,  and 
were  never  changed. 

He  presided  over  the  North  Albania  Conference  at  Flor- 
ence, mber  15th,  and  the  Alabama,  at  Mobile,  on  the 
29th.  He  had,  as  I  have  said  I  »ld  BrightSlde,  and  made 
an  addition  to  Sunshine,  in  which  Judge  Turner  lived,  and  he 
moved  to  Sunshine  again  in  December  of  187 1.  The  early 
part  of  the  year  187a  he  seems  to  have  spent  at  home,  but  in 
May  he  went  to  the  bishops'  meeting  in  Nashville,  where  the 
COrner-Stone  of  the  new  publishing  house  was  to  be  laid. 
His  throat  was  out  of  order  and  he  was  hoarse,  but  he  was 
called  on  for  .1  speech,  and  the  report  say 

"  Bishop  Pierce  then  said:  '  Christian  friends— I  am  not 
only  hoarse,  but  I  am  in  other  respects  too  unwell  to  fill  my 
part  of  the  programme  of  the  present  service.  But  rather 
than  subject  another  to  the  annoyance  and  embarrassment  of 
a  sudden  call  to  take  my  place  I  will  try  and  stand  in  my  lot 
for  a  few  moments. 

"  '  The  heavens  above  us,  all  radiant  with  sunshine,  arc  not 
brighter  than  the  prospects  of  Southern  Methodism  on  this 
auspicious  occasion.  Christian  hope  leans  over  her  in  the 
light  of  hallowed  prophecy,  and  the  shadows  of  the  past  but 
constitute  a  background  from  which  stand  out  the  bolder 
relief  of  assurance  and  encouragement  which  cheer  her  on  to 
future  and  more  glorious  triumphs.  The  publishing  house 
may  well  say  it  is  good  for  me  that  I  have  been  afflicted. 


187L]  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  555 

[Sensation.]  i  And  although  she  has  no  reason  to  quote  in 
application  to  herself  the  remaining  clause  of  the  text,  "for 
before  I  was  afflicted  I  went  astray,"  yet  she  may  add  :  "  I 
have  been  embarrassed  with  the  burden  of  a  debt  entailed 
upon  me  by  the  distress  of  war.  I  have  been  embarrassed  by 
the  division  of  the  public  mind  on  the  question  of  my  location. 
I  have  been  embarrassed  by  an  ill-shapen,  inconvenient,  un- 
attractive habitation.  But  misfortune  has  rallied  around  me 
the  sympathies  of  the  country.  The  generous  response  of  the 
Church  and  her  friends  has  not  only  repaired  my  losses,  but 
endowed  me  with  capacity  for  enlargement,  improvement, 
and  the  better  adaptation  of  means  to  ends.  The  question  of 
location  has  been  settled  beyond  the  possible  contingencies 
of  the  future,  and  now  I  lay  the  corner-stone  of  the  structure 
which  is  to  loom  in  grandeur  and  glory,  polished  after  the 
similitude  of  a  palace  ;  and  glad  am  I  to  escape  from  the 
ashes  and  debris  of  that  place  where  I  have  been  crowded 
(confined)  and  well  nigh  smothered." 

"  '  The  history  of  this  concern,  as  it  was,  but  illustrates 
another  fact  in  the  history  of  most  people,  and  especially  of 
the  good.  Apparent  evils  are  but  blessings  in  disguise,  and 
clouds,  which  deepen  and  darken  along  the  sky  and  cast  on  us 
their  ominous  shadows,  are  yet  rich  in  mercies  and  break  in 
blessings  on  our  heads.  It  is  a  consoling  thought  that  no 
evil  spirit  has  anything  to  do  with  the  government  of  the 
world.  It  is  ruled  by  the  God  of  Love.  [Voice,  "Amen."] 
Our  sharpest  pangs,  our  severest  anguish,  our  most  dreadful 
calamities  are  not  the  infliction  of  a  malignant  principle.  Nor 
are  they  blown  upon  us  by  the  winds  of  chance,  nor  borne 
down  by  the  torrent  of  an  unintelligent  destiny,  but  they  are 
meted  out  by  infinite  wisdom  and  infinite  love,  without  which 
not  a  sparrow  falleth  to  the  ground  nor  a  single  hair  from  the 
head  of  man.  I  know  it  is  the  practice  in  some  quarters  to 
ignore  Methodism — its  existence,  its  progress,  its  influence, 
its  power.  Persecution  cast  her  out  in  the  days  of  her  infancy. 
Ignorance  and  prejudice  and  jealousy  have  slandered  and  re- 
proached her  all  along.     But  she  has  survived  it  all  and  pros- 


55G  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.     [Chap.XVIH 

pered  in  spite  of  all.  [Voice,  "That  is  good."J  Faithful  to 
her  mission,  she  has  outlived  the  rancor  of  her  enemies. 
Faithful  to  her  calling  in  the  future  she  will  yet  command  the 
homage  and  admiration  of  the  world.  Indeed,  a  great  revolu- 
tion is  going  on  in  the  minds  of  Europe  and  America.  The 
name  of  our  immortal  founder  is  emerging,  in  brightness  and 
glory,  from  the  mists  of  his  own  time  ;  and  the  shadows 
that  lingered  around  it  are  dissolving  in  the  light  of  the  new 
revelation,  and  the  time  will  come  when  the  world  will  sub- 
scribe to  him  the  sentiment  that  "  he  is  without  a  parallel  in 
the  annals  of  mankind."  [Voice,  "  Amen."]  I  know  that 
reproach  is  sometimes  cast  upon  us  as  a  people.  The  changes 
have  been  rung  upon  this  till  some  of  Methodism's  oldest 
friends  arc  disposed  to  admit  that  she  is  behind  the  times; 
recreant  to  her  duty  and  destiny  and  losing  hat  prestige  in  the 
world.  Methodism  has  always  been  the  friend  and  patron 
and  ally  of  education  and  knowledge,  and  I  take  it  on  me  to 
,  that  there  is  n<>  Church,  no  organization,  which 
contributed  more  to  the  general  inteli  I  the  Ameri- 

can people  than  Methodism  through  her  instrumentalities  and 
her  institutions.  We  have  always  believed  in  the  sentiment 
that  a  taste  for  religious  knowledge  was  an  essential  element 
of  Christian  character.  We  have  recognized  it,  encouraged 
it- and  approved  of  it  To  Wesley  the  world  is  indebted  for 
cheap  religious  literature.  I  le  was  the  very  first  man  to  throw 
it  into  popular  form  and  bring  it  within  the  means  of  the 
lower  classes  of  society,  and  immediately  after  the  organiza- 
tion of  the  Church  in  this  country,  an  enterprise  was  projected 
which,  in  the  lapse  of  years,  has  developed  into  the  mammoth 
Book  Concern  on  the  other  side  of  the  line  of  separation;  and 
adhering  to  her  convictions  and  policy  this  great  interest  has 
been  committed  to  the  talents  of  the  Church,  great  names  in  our 
ecclesiastical  history  dotting  the  line  of  its  progress  all  along, 
Dickens,  Cooper,  Bangs,  Soule,  Emory,  Waugh,  Carlton,  and 
on  the  other  side  of  the  line  of  separation  we  have  Stevenson, 
(  Hven,  and  McFerrin,  names  not  unknown  to  fame.  Indeed, 
over    the  river,  a  citizen  of  Arkansas,  electrified,  enthused, 


1S71-]  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  557 

transported  by  the  force  and  vigor  of  one  of  the  sermons  of 
the  last-named  brother,  rushing  from  among  the  audience, 
said  that  man  is  the  mudsill  of  Methodism,  and,  he  said, 
"  Talk  about  bishops  and  your  agents  and  your  editors, 
when  that  man  dies  Methodism  will  go  up."  We  all  recog- 
nize his  great  services  and  we  know  his  power  over  and 
the  facility  which  he  possesses  for  transferring  to  others  his 
thoughts  and  sentiments,  but  Methodism  will  survive  him. 
The  publishing  house,  Sunday-schools,  and  the  ministry  will 
outlive  him,  but  when  he  dies  he  will  leave  behind  him  a 
monument  of  his  labors,  influence,  and  love.  And  last,  but 
not  least  in  my  judgment,  the  wisdom  of  the  Church,  in  one 
direction  in  particular,  culminated  in  the  appointment  of 
Alfred  H.  Redford.  [Voice,  "  Put  him  in  the  corner-stone." 
Laughter.]  He  took  command  of  the  ship  when  she  was 
rocking  among  the  breakers  and  thumping  upon  the  bottom, 
when  her  friends  upon  the  shore  verily  believed  she  was 
destined  to  go  to  pieces.  But  by  God's  blessing  he  has 
worked  her  out  of  danger  and  into  deep  water,  and  he  has 
made  his  annual  voyages  and  brought  back  a  good  report, 
and  to-day  she  stands  secure,  trim  in  her  sails  and  des- 
tined to  sail  on,  freighted  with  blessings  for  millions  yet 
unborn. 

"  'Yea,  let  this  building  rise.  Lay  its  foundation  deep. 
Make  its  walls  thick  and  strong.  Invoke  the  highest  archi- 
tectural taste  to  its  aid.  Let  judgment  arrange  its  interior. 
Provide  an  elegant  room  for  the  Advocate,  and  line  the  walls 
with  books  [turning  and  looking  toward  Dr.  Summers],  and 
sit  this  venerable  man  upon  its  throne  of  power,  and  let  him 
write  the  words  of  truth,  soberness,  and  wisdom.  Provide  a 
room  for  missions  where  the  honored  Secretary  of  the  Board 
may  meet  in  council  and  plan  for  the  universal  empire  of  the 
Son  of  God.  And,  sir  [looking  at  Dr.  Haygood],  provide 
for  my  young  friend,  the  Sunday-school  Secretary,  and  let 
nothing  be  lacking  for  the  children  who  will  hereafter  be 
born.  Secure  all  conveniences,  and  let  Methodism  mark  this 
day  in  its  calendar  as  white,  and  while  you  and  I  live  that 


558  Life  and  Times,  of  George  F.  Pierce.     l(',,u'  xvm. 

our  children  may  realize  the  hope  which  this  project  inspires. 
[Voice,  "  Go  on."]     I  cannot  do  it,  sir.'  " 

Bishop  Pierce  was  a  conservative  in  his  views.  He  had 
very  decided  opinions,  which  were  fearlessly  expressed,  on 
many  subjects  about  which  there  were  decided  differences 
among  his  brethren.  Me  was  not  an  autocrat  nor  a  dictator, 
but  still  less  was  lie  disposed  to  be  ruled  by  others.  There 
was  a  very  large  and  a  very  intelligent  body  of  the  preachers 
and  laymen  who  were  anxious  for  a  distinctively  theological 
school.  The  English  Wesleyans  had  two,  the  M.  E.  Church 
had  several.  The  Baptists  and  Presbyterians  and  Episcopa- 
lians had  them.  North  and  South.  Many  thought  we  should 
fall  into  line.      He  thought  it  would  not  be  wise,  and  said  so. 

On  his  return  to  Sunshine  from  Nashville  he  read  the 
plan  of  the  Central  University.  It  was  projected  on  a  huge 
scale,  and  was  to  have,  as  one  of  its  departments,  an  out  and 
out  theological  school.  This  feature  was  greatly  against  his 
will,  and  he  wrote  very  sharply  in  opposition  to  it,  and 
Bishop  McTyierc  replied,  and  he  replied  to  him  : 

"  .  .  .  It  is  my  opinion  that  every  dollar  invested 
in  a  theological  school  will  be  a  damage  to  Methodism. 
Had  I  a  million,  I  would  not  give  a  dime  for  such  an  object. 
That  is  plain.     So  I  advise. 

"  I  think  the  Methodist  ministry,  just  as  it  is,  taken  as 
a  wAele,  i->  the  best  in  the  world.  And  the  best,  because  it 
has  not  been  manipulated  and  denaturalized  by  procrustean 
canons,  and  because  it  achieves  on  a  larger  scale  than  any 
other  the  great  ends  of  gospel  preaching. 

"  I  think  the  social  status  of  Methodism  is  very  fine  ; 
and,  although  we  do  go  into  '  rude  settlements,'  and  among 
'  common  people,'  we  can  and  do  keep  company,  without 
embarrassment,  with  the  '  cultivated  and  refined.'  God's 
house  is  a  house  of  prayer  for  all  people,  and  Christ's  Gospel 
r  every  creature  ;  and,  as  Methodists,  we  accept  '  this 
condition,'  and  work  according  to  this  line  of  things.  We 
have  no  castes  like  the  Hindoos  among  our  preachers  or  peo- 
ple, except  here  and  there  in  some  of  our  city  congregations, 


1871.]  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  559 

and  the  little  of  it  which  has  crept  in,  like  the  devil  in  Para- 
dise, is  a  curse  and  a  snare. 

"  i.  Now  let  me  say — I  hope  for  the  last  time — I  am  not 
1  unkind  or  thoughtless  enough'  to  appeal  to  'prejudice  or 
party  feeling.'     Not  I,      I  am  writing  right  out  my  heart. 

"2.  I  cannot  '  conscientiously  help  forward  the  work'  of 
providing  a  theological  school,  and  therefore  I  '  feel  obliged 
to  hinder  it,'  if  I  can  fairly.  I  am  against  it — head  and  heart, 
tongue  and  pen — '  now  and  forever,  one  and  indivisible.' 

"3.  I  pray  most  sincerely  that  the  theological  scheme 
may  go  down  to  the  shades  of  oblivion. 

"  To  define  my  position  strongly  and  truly,  I  am  a 
'  Hardshell  Methodist,' just  foolish  enough  to  believe  that  our 
economy  is  the  wisest,  best,  and  most  effective  the  world  ever 
saw,  and  exceedingly  jealous   of  all   tinkerings  with  it. 

"  I  had  some  experience  in  this  line.  My  colleague  broke 
down  the  third  month,  and  left  me  alone  on  a  circuit  to  preach 
twenty-four  times  every  twenty-eight  days,  and  I  would  not 
exchange  what  I  learned  in  those  nine  months  by  myself  for 
three  years'  training  under  tutors,  and  lectures,  and  libraries. 
Next  year  I  was  with  James  O.  Andrew.  We  began  our 
work  the  first  of  February.  He  left  in  April  for  the  General 
Conference,  where  he  was  made  a  bishop,  and  I  was  left 
alone  again.  So  much  the  better  for  me.  I  was  relieved  of 
the  paralysis  of  his  presence  and  superior  ability.  I  studied, 
and  prayed,  and  worked,  and  learned  for  myself  and  by  my- 
self. Set  it  down  to  vanity  if  you  will  (the  Lord  knoweth), 
I  never  felt  the  need  of  any  other  training.  With  the  Bible 
and  the  Discipline  in  my  hands,  I  trained  myself,  as  any 
honest,  earnest  young  man  can  do  and  will  do.  Pardon  this 
digression. 

"  Out  of  this  old  plan,  with  all  its  hard  work,  and  with 
few  books,  mingling  all  the  while  with  the  uncultivated,  came 
the  men  who  shook  heaven,  earth,  and  hell.  Now,  I  take  it, 
the  young  preacher  of  to-day  has  a  much  better  opportunity. 
Circuits  are  small,  appointments  all  filled  on  Saturday  and 
Sunday,  a  settled  home,  plenty  of  books,  old  preachers  always 


560  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.     [Chap,  xviii 

accessible  if  he  needs  advice,  five  days  in  the  week  at  his 
disposal,  time,  stimulus,  every  convenience  for  stud}-  ;  what 
more  does  he  want  ?  Perhaps,  too,  he  is  already  a  graduate  ; 
at  any  rate,  a  fair  English  education  to  begin  with  ;  his  duties 
all  defined,  a  plan  of  work  laid  down  by  law  and  usage,  to  go 
by  ;  there  is  no  preacher  in  a  man  with  such  a  chance  if  the 
work  of  itinerancy  does  not  bring  him  out. 

"  My  record  in  the  past  makes  it  expletive  for  me  to 
say  I  am  the  friend  of  education.  I  have  devoted  time, 
money,  and  labor  to  it.  If  an  ignorant  youth  in  his  teens 
were  to  tell  me  he  was  called  to  preach,  I  would  advise  him 
to  go  to  school ;  ay,  I  would  send  him  to  college,  educate 
him  as  thoroughly  as  time  and  means  would  allow.  Nay,  I 
would  have  a  Jliblical  Chair  in  all  our  colleges,  but  it  should 
be  open  to  all  the  students  alike.  There  should  be  nothing 
exclusive,  technical,  professional,  about  it.  I  would  teach 
the  farmers,  doctors,  lawyers,  merchants,  preachers,  that  are 
to  be,  all  alike.  I  am  Hardshell  enough  to  believe  that  God 
will  call  all  the  educated  men  he  wants. 

"  If  a  man  who  has  reached  his  majority  and  over,  and 
has  been  preaching  as  a  travelling  preacher,  were  to  come 
and  ask  me  if  I  would  advise  him  to  stop  and  go  to  school, 
I  would  tell  him  no.  I  should  urge  him  to  study  hard  and 
preach  on  ;  gaining  knowledge  is  a  good  thing — saving  souls 
is  better.  Now,  let  the  Church  ponder  this  remark — our 
greatest  preachers,  intellectually  considered,  are  not  our  most 
useful  men.  We  are  beginning,  I  fear,  to  deify  talent,  and 
talk  too  much  about  the  '  age,'  and  '  progress,'  and  the  de- 
mands of  the  times,  for  the  simplicity  of  our  faith,  or  the 
safety  of  the  Church.  Not  by  might  or  power,  but  by  my 
Spirit,  saith  the  Lord. 

"  I  do  not  believe  that  we  are  a  bit  behind  the  best,  ex- 
cept in  pompous  pretensions.  The  Episcopalians,  I  know, 
claim  to  have  all  the  gentility  of  the  land,  and  bribe  silly  peo- 
ple with  the  complacent  fancy  that  in  joining  the  Church 
they  are  brought  into  society.  All  sensible  people  understand 
that. 


ls71-]  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  561 

"The  Presbyterians  claim  an  educated  ministry,  and  they 
have  always  been  the  friends  of  learning.  But  they  have  not 
all  the  learning.  Take  any  State  you  please,  and,  man  for 
man,  the  Methodist  ministry  will  compare  favorably  in 
scholarship  and  usefulness.  I  know  the  Methodists  and  the 
Baptists  are  regarded  by  '  certain  '  as  a  plebeian  set,  but  to 
these  common  people  the  whole  country  is  largely  indebted 
for  the  Gospel.  The  Episcopal  sect  is  too  delicate  for  coun- 
try fare.  It  must  dwell  in  town.  The  Presbyterian  training 
is  too  slow  and  stiff  to  meet  the  urgent  and  diversified  calls 
of  a  promiscuous  population.  The  Methodists  and  the  Bap- 
tists have  a  ministry  right  out  from  the  people — understand- 
ing their  thoughts,  feelings,  and  language  ;  and  however 
despised  and  berated,  they  are  the  instruments  which  God 
has  honored  for  the  evangelization  of  the  people.  Saying  no 
more  of  our  Baptist  brethren — they  can  defend  themselves — 
the  secret  of  our  strength  and  progress,  of  popular  approval 
and  almost  universal  acceptance  under  God,  has  been  our 
mode  of  inducting  men  into  the  ministry.  Let  God  call, 
the  Church  indorse,  the  Conference  receive,  and  the  bishop 
send  forth — urging  them  to  read,  study,  pray,  preach,  work, 
and  let  these  men  be  faithful,  and  they  will  be  an  honor  to 
their  race,  and  a  blessing  to  the  world.  Through  more  than 
a  century  they  have  been,  they  now  are,  and  they  will  yet  be, 
if  not  spoiled  by  artificial,  arbitrary,  stereotyped  'training.' 
Training  by  '  tutors,  lectures,  and  library,'  the  professor  him- 
self, perhaps,  nev.er  led  a  class,  or  travelled  a  circuit,  or  con- 
ducted a  revival,  and  knows  as  little  of  the  details  of  an 
itinerant's  life  and  duty,  as  these  book  men  who,  in  counsel 
with  their  own  peculiar  tastes  and  habitudes,  advise  my  col- 
league of  the  wants  of  the  Church  !  Such  training  will  mar, 
but  never  make  a  preacher.  The  simple  agitation  of  this 
question — the  fact  that  some  have  regarded  this  fossil  insti- 
tution as  possible  among  us,  and  a  few  as  even  desirable — 
and  the  coincident  stress  laid  upon  ministerial  education, 
have  already  wrought  harm  among  us,  by  restraining  young 
men  from  applying  for  admission  into  the  Conferences.  Go 
36 


669  Lite  an  J  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.     [Ohap.XVII] 

on  with  this  theological  training  idea,  and  without  any  ex- 
pressed statute  to  bar  their  entrance  into  the  ministry,  all, 
well  nigh,  who  cannot  avail  themselves  of  this  kind  of  pre; 
ration,  will  smother  their  convictions,  and  thus  imperil  their 
souls  and  bereave  the  Church.  Is  the  Episcopal  ministry 
equal  to  ours  in  talent,  in  force,  in  results?  Is  the  Presbyte- 
rian ministry,  conceding  all  their  excellences  (and  I  have  the 
highest  respect   for  them),  doing  more  good  than  we?     Do 

need  any  better  preachers  than  McTyiere  and  llaygood, 
and  Myers,  and  Reid,  and  Andrews,  and  Winfield,  and 
Rivers?  And  what  shall  I  more  say  ?  for  the  time  would 
fail  me  to  tell  of  Tudor,  and  Matthews,  and  Linn,  and  Mun- 
sey,  and  Key,  and  Potter,  and  Harrison,  and  Duncan,  and 
Granberry,  and  a  host  of  others  who  arc  serving  their  gener- 
ation by  the  will  of  God,  honorably  and  usefully.  Better 
preachers  than  these  are  scarce  in  any  communion.  The 
best  preachers  I  ever  heard  had  never  been  to  college  at  all 
— hardly  to  school.  What  do  brethren  want  ?  Metaphysics? 
:;c?  Eloquence  ?  Evangelical  power?  (l 
no;  we  have  all  these.  Wh.it  then?  Hear  it,  ye  Metho- 
,  and  stand  amazed!  We  want  ' critics*  for  Bible  re- 
vision !  I  thank  God  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  South, 
i-  ivt  represented  in  a  work— in  my  judgment  little  short  of 
sacrilege — a-tampering  with  the  text  of  our  good  old  Saxon 
Bible. 

"Methodism  docs  not  occupy 'an  inferior  place.'  Sin 
never  did.  If  she  will  stick  to  her  own  ways  and  quit  aping 
and  imitation,  she  never  will.  I,  too,  '  claim  for  Methodism 
a  mission  to  all  classes.'  But  I  do  not  mean  to  cut  her  off 
from  svmpathy  with  the  mass  and  multitude  of  mankind  ;  or 
a  scholastic  isolation  of  her  ministry.  I  believe  in  gifts  as 
well  as  grace,  and  would  have  every  preacher  to  speak  '  justly, 
readily,  clearly,'  but  to  declare  the  same  simpje  gospel  to 
the  rich  and  the  poor,  the  wise  and  the  unwise.  The  preach- 
ing that  is  fixed  up  for  the  '  cultivated  and  the  refined  '  is  very 
poor  preaching.  I  have  heard  it  ad  nauseam.  Solo;: 
says  :   '  Great  men  are  not  always  wise,'  and  my  observation 


1S71-]  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  563 

is  that  very  scholarly  men,  deeply  devoted  to  abstruse 
studies,  are  the  poorest  judges  of  fitness,  and  the  least  capable 
of  adaptation.  This  training  of  a  man  for  a  special  class — '  a 
select  few,'  is  a  positive  disqualification  for  the  general  work 
of  the  ministry.  '  I  think,'  '  it  is  my  opinion,'  I  do  believe  a 
soul  is  a  soul,  and  as  '  all  souls  are  mine,  saith  the  Lord ' — that, 
in  the  most  important  sense,  is  the  best  preaching  which 
saves  the  most  of  them.  Give  me  the  evangelist  and  the 
revival,  rather  than  the  erudite  brother  who  goes  into  the 
pulpit  to  reconcile  Moses  with  modern  science,  instead  of 
preaching  repentance  and  faith,  or  goes  so  deep  into  geology 
as  to  show  that  Adam  was  not  the  first  man — that  the  deluge 
was  a  little  local  affair — '  not  much  of  a  shower  ' — and  that 
the  unity  of  the  race  is  not  a  cardinal  fact  in  Christian  theol- 
ogy. '  I  do  think  '  breaking  hearts  with  the  hammer  of  the 
word,  is  better  employment  than  splitting  hairs  with  meta- 
physical acumen.  'I  do  think '  evangelical  sermons  better 
than  critical  lectures." 

When  the  Central  University  was  established,  and  became 
the  Vanderbilt,  he  had  no  longer  a  word  to  say  in  opposition 
to  it.  I  am  sure  his  views  on  technical  theological  educa- 
tion never  changed  ;  but  what  his  brethren  were  disposed  to 
do,  in  their  own  province,  he  was  not  disposed  to  censure  or 
oppose.  I  have  not  felt  at  liberty  to  publish  one  side  of  a  con- 
troversy, and  I  have  tried  therefore  to  eliminate  all  that  par- 
takes of  the  controversial  feature.  But  I  have  felt  it  to  be  my 
duty  to  give  an  accurate  exhibit  of  his  views  on  this  subject, 
and  why  he  entertained  them.  He  did  not  attack  a  school  in 
existence,  but  a  system  of  training  in  vogue  in  other  churches. 
Whether  the  school  projected,  when  established,  was 
open  to  his  censures,  is  not  a  question  for  me  to  discuss. 
The  discussion  was  in  good  temper  and  very  able.  Bishop 
McTyiere  held  his  pen  well  in  hand,  and  presented  his  side 
of  the  question  with  that  clearness  and  force  which  marks  all 
his  writing,  and  many  of  the  ablest  and  most  conservative 
men  of  the  Church  stood  by  him.  Bishop  Pierce  did  not  tarry 
long  at  home,  and  his  letters  tell  us  what  he  did  : 


5G4  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.     [Chap,  xviii. 

"  After  the  annual  meeting  of  the  Bishops  and  Missionary 
Board  in  -May,  I  visited  Rome,  spent  a  Sabbath,  and  then 
came  down  to  the  Savannah  District  Conference  in  Waynes- 
borough.  This  meeting  was  precious  to  me,  not  only  be- 
cause of  its  religious  privileges,  but  on  account  of  intercourse 
and  fellowship  with  the  friends  of  other  days.  It  was  a  hal- 
lowed pleasure  to  see  the  old,  familiar  faces,  and  to  declare 
to  them  once  more  the  steadfast,  unchangeable  love  of  our 
Heavenly  Father.  .Mas!  many  of  the  friends  of  my  early 
life  and  service  sleep  in  the  dust.  Some  survive,  and  I  was 
happy  to  find  them  on  the  way  to  Zion.  The  meeting  was 
good  in  all  respects — a  blessing  to  the  town  and  circuit. 

"  My  next  appointment  Emory  and  I  Ienry  College, 

in  Virginia.  I  had  promised  the  President  and  the  young 
men  of  the  College  to  deliver  the  annual  address,  and  reached 
there  just  in  tim  p  my  word  und  perform  the  service. 

Next  day  I  went  on  to  the  Wytheville  District  Conference,  at 

Marion.     Here.  to1(,  the  occasion  was  pleasant  and  profitable. 

And   now,  for  th  fa   railroad,  I  go   tWO  or   three  hun- 

OUt  of  my  way  to  reach  the  next  appointment,  at 
Clarksburg,  West  Virginia.  My  route  carried  me  to  Balti- 
more, where  I  tarried   for  a  night.      Next  morning  I  took  the 

imore  and  Ohio  road  for  my  destination,  and  arrived  in 
due    time-,  but   r.  r.      Having  rode   a   day  and 

night  with  wet  shoes  on  my  feet,  I  took  cold,  and  for  two 
day  ry  unwell.      I  record  this  imprudence  and  its  re- 

sult for  warning  to  others. 

"  We  had  a  thin  attendance  of  preachers  and  delegates. 
The  farmers  were  in  the  midst  of  harvest,  and  the  seasons 
were  out  of  joint  generally,  imposing  unexpected  duties  upon 
the  people  just  at  this  time.  Ncvcrthele-s,  we  went  through 
and  have  good  hope  of  good  results.     Went  forward  and  spent 

pleasant  days  and  nights  at  Parker-burg  with  the  pastor, 

•her  Carroll,  preached  for  him,  and  the  following  day  we 

took  a  boat  and  went  down  the  Ohio  to   Ravenswood  ;   land- 

supped  with  the  preacher,  and  then  rode  a  few  miles  to 
find  lodging  near  the  next  day's  appointment.     The  whole 


1871-]  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  565 

arrangement  for  this  meeting  was  a  failure.  The  place  was 
inaccessible,  the  house  too  small,  and  the  time  too  short. 
Nevertheless,  I  found  the  people  clever,  hospitable,  and 
pious,  and  made  the  most  I  could  out  of  the  two  days  allowed 
me  in  the  plan.  The  meeting  was  continuing  while  I  went 
across  hill  and  dale  in  a  buggy  with  Brother  Mallory  to  Ripley 
and  Buffalo.  At  the  latter  place  I  was  to  dedicate  a  church 
on  Sunday  morning.  A  few  ladies  conceived  the  project  of 
building  a  new  and  better  house  of  worship,  and  had  planned 
and  worked  and  hoarded  for  years,  and  finally  built  the  house. 
'Help those  women  who  labored  with  me  in  the  gospel,' would 
have  been  a  good  text  for  the  occasion,  as  more  money  was 
needed  to  pay  the  bills,  but  I  took  another  and  yet  raised  the 
money,  greatly  to  the  delight  of  the  sisterhood,  and  indeed 
of  all  the  community.  Took  the  regular  packet  on  Monday 
for  Charleston,  the  capital  of  the  State.  Preached  the  next 
day  to  a  small  congregation,  which  came  together  in  spite  of 
the  falling  rain.  In  the  morning,  I  took  the  train  for  the 
Falls  of  Kanawha,  the  present  terminus  of  the  Chesapeake 
and  Ohio  Railroad.  I  spent  the  night  in  a  crowd  all  huddled 
together  in  a  small  habitation.  The  proprietor  showed  me, 
however,  '  no  little  kindness.'  The  stage  to  Fayetteville  was 
tri-weekly,  and  I  missed  the  right  day,  and  so  had  to  lie  over 
or  provide  for  myself  some  other  way.  The  other  preachers 
determined  to  foot  it  and  left  me  alone.  Walking1  is  not  in 
my  line,  and  I  resolved  to  take  the  chances  of  some  other 
style  of  locomotion.  Toward  noon  I  found  a  wagon  going 
over,  and  I  engaged  my  passage.  Our  route  was  up  Cot- 
ton Mountain,  the  load  was  heavy,  the  day  was  hot,  the 
driver  careful  of  his  horses,  and  we  made  four  miles  in  four 
hours.  This  rate  of  progress  worked  upon  my  nerves  till 
walking  itself  seemed  a  relief.  I  dismounted  and  set  out, 
slow  but  sure,  meditating  gravely  on  the  lights  and  shadows  of 
itinerancy.  My  thoughts  took  a  curious  turn,  and  at  another 
time  I  may  give  the  Advocate  the  benefit  of  them.  I  had  not 
exhausted  myself  or  the  subject  of  my  meditations,  when  I 
met  Brother  Claughton,  who  had  made  the  trip,  and  was  re- 


566  Life  and  Tunes  of  George  F.  Pierce,     t^iiw.  xviil 

turning  with  a  horse  for  me.  This  was  a  thoughtful  kindness 
that  I  shall  remember  long.  The  Conference  was  better  at- 
tended than  cither  of  the  others  and  was  in  many  respects  a 
blessing  to  the  people.  Our  church  had  been  destroyed 
during  the  war,  and  we  were  constrained  to  use  the  Court 
House.  I  took  advantage  of  the  inconveniences  to  start  a 
subscription  for  a  house  of  worship.  Hope  to  preach  in  it 
some  of  these  days.  The  country  which  I  have  passed  in 
West  Virginia  is  picturesque,  often  beautiful,  much  of  it 
fertile,  though  broken.  A  land  of  corn  and  wheat  and  grass, 
fine  for  folks  and  cattle.  I  wish  I  could  turn  a  few  preachers 
up  that  way.  The  Conference  is  needing  men,  and  with  a 
full  supply  of  workmen  the  Church  would  wax  strong  in 
numbers,  influence,  and  general  prosperity.  From  this  meet- 
ing I  returned  to  Georgia  by  a  very  circuitous  route  as  the 
quickest  and  cheapest." 

Rev.  S.  T.  Nfallory  has  kindly  given  us  a  further  account 
of  the  bishop's  visit  to  the  district  in  West  Virginia  and  his 
dedication  sermon.  The  pi. ice  at  which  the  Conference  met 
idyville,  thirty  miles  from  Buffalo.  The  route  to 
Buffalo  \\a<  very  rough,  and  "during  the  night,"  said  Mr. 
Mallory,  "  I    ventur  1   of  the  difficulties  in   the  way. 

His  only  reply  was  a  humorous  remark,  '  I  have  seen  the 
elephant  before.'  At  the  first  very  bad  piece  of  road,  I  vent- 
ured to  to  the  bishop  that  perhaps  he  had  better  get 
out  and  walk.  '  No,'  said  he,  '  I  have  a  horse  to  take  me 
over  these  roads,  and  I  shall  not  walk.'  He  kept  up  a  lively 
conversation,  and  his  own  history  furnished  the  principal 
part  of  the  narrative.  This  day's  association  with  the  noble 
Pierce  developed  to  me  some  peculiar  views  held  by  him, 
which  1  have  found  in  few  other  men.  Said  he  :  '  I  do  not 
believe  in  the  severance  of  family  ties  f(,r  merely  mercenary 
and  selfish  end-.  Members  of  the  same  family,  unless  for  the 
glory  of  God,  should  stick  as  close  together  as  practicable, 
even  at  the  sacrifice  of  the  world's  goods.' 

"The  next  day  a  great  crowd  assembled.  The  bishop 
preached  one  of  his  best  sermons,  and  the  collection  was  tak- 


1ST1-1  Life  ami  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  567 

en."  Perhaps  no  man  ever  lived  in  the  Methodist  Church  in 
America  who  took  up  more  collections  and  did  it  more  skil- 
fully than  Bishop  Pierce.  He  told  me  his  plan  was  always  to 
get  at  least  half  of  what  he  wanted  in  large  subscriptions  ;  a 
hat  collection  or  one  on  cards  never  amounted  to  much.  He 
always  asked  for  definite  sums.  He  pursued  this  plan  in  the 
congregation  in  Buffalo.  "He  wanted,"  says  Brother  Mallory, 
"  six  hundred  dollars.  He  called  for  ten  persons  to  give  him 
twenty  dollars  each  :  then  twenty  to  give  him  ten  dollars  ; 
then  forty  to  give  him  five  dollars.  He  succeeded  in  each 
call.  After  he  had  rested,  and  had  his  coffee  and  his  cigars, 
he  preached  again.  I  handed  him  a  small  sum  of  money, 
which  I  told  him  was  to  help  to  defray  his  expenses.  '  I  don't 
want  much,'  he  said.  At  about  eleven  A.M.  I  walked  with  him 
to  the  boat-landing,  and  bade  him  farewell  for  the  last  time." 
During  this  visit  he  received  the  news  of  the  death  of 
Lovick's  little  boy,  and  writes  to  him  from  Clarksburg  : 

"  Clarksburg,  West  Virginia. 

"  By  a  letter  from  Ella  I  hear  that  your  little  boy  is  dead. 
Well,  this  is  better  than  a  life  of  suffering  and  physical 
feebleness.  Christ  has  provided  for  these  little  ones.  He 
gave,  and  He  hath  taken  away.  His  will  be  done.  It  is 
wise  and  good.  So  I  hope  you  feel  it  to  be.  Let  the  bereave- 
ment bind  you  and  Sallie  more  closely  to  God,  and  duty. 
Someone  has  said,  it  is  dangerous  to  lose  a  blessing,  it  is  ter- 
rible to  lose  an  affliction.  Accept,  then,  this  chastening  and 
improve  it  to  a  deeper  consecration.  God  bless  you  and 
yours.      Kiss  the  children  for  me. 

"  I  am  here,  but  very  unwell,  a  violent  cold,  disordered 
bowels,  and  great  prostration.  Preached  yesterday,  but  be- 
came deathly  sick  and  had  to  sit  down.  To-day  I  stayed  in 
and  hope  to  recruit.  I  am  much  out  of  sorts.  It  is  tempo- 
rary. Expect  to  preach  in  the  morning.  Wish  I  were  at 
home  just  now.  This  is  a  heavy  campaign.  Hard  rides, 
much  labor  every  way.  Hope  to  get  through  and  back  by 
the  fourth  or  fifth  of  July. 


568  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Fierce.     [Chap,  xviii 

"  Kiss  mother  and  let  her  lack  for  nothing.  I  will  write 
to  her  from  this  point.  Love  to  Sallie  and  tell  her  not  to 
pine.     Everything  is  best,  just  as  it  is." 

In  September  he  went  to  the  West  and  writes  : 
"  My  recent  visit  to  the  Western  Conference  was  very- 
pleasant.  To  Nebraska  City,  the  seat  of  the  Conference,  the 
distance  by  rail  is  a  little  over  twelve  hundred  miles.  Dr. 
McFerrill  joined  me  at  Nashville,  and  with  him  and  my 
nephew,  Thomas  R.  Pierce,  a  transfer  to  Colorado,  the  loneli- 
ness and  fatigue  of  so  long  a  ride  were  wonderfully  relieved. 
At  St.  Louis  we  parted  asunder,  not  because  of  a  sharp  con- 
tention, a-  in  the  case  of  Paul  and  Barnabas,  but  for  the  sake 
of  serving  the  Church  at  two  points  rather  than  one.  The 
doctor  went   to   a   camp-meeting   near   \\  ity,  .in>\  I  to 

Atchison,  Kan.,  to  dedicate  a  church.  He  has  reported  for 
himself  in  the  NashvilU  AdvOi  U  ,  and  now  1  .v  a  brief 

letter.  Our  church  at  A i-  n  it  strong,  but  slowly  im- 
proving. One  or  two  valuable  accessions  while  I  was  there. 
The  house  was  dedicated,  money  enough  having  been  raised 
to  pay  all  indebtedness.  I  preached  morning  and  night,  be- 
sides attending  the  Sabbath-school  and  giving  the  children  a 
talk.  With  the  arrangement  mad:  for  the  station  this  year  I 
look  for  increased  prospe: 

"  On  Monday  I  went  fifteen  miles  through  the  rain  to 
dedicate  a  church  in  Bolton  circuit.  When  I  began  the  ser- 
vice the  con  a  was  small,  but  before  I  ended  the  house 
was  pretty  well  filled.  At  this  place  there  was  a  strong  relig- 
ious feeling,  and  several  had  been  added  to  the  Church. 
Went  with  Brother  O'Howell  to  his  father-in-law's  to  dinner, 
and  found  Brother  Rush,  of  Missouri,  who  had  been  preach- 
ing for  the  people  for  the  last  two  days.  Not  knowing  my 
habit  to  go  when  the  time  comes,  and  supposing  the  appoint- 
ment a  failure,  because  of  the  clouds  and  the  wind,  he  cleaved 
belter.  In  the  afternoon  we  returned  to  Atchison, 
and  Brother  Rush  preached  at  night.  In  the  morning,  with 
several  accessions  to  our  number,  we  took  the  road   for  Ne- 


1871.]      .         Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  569 

braska  City.  On  the  way  Dr.  McFerrin  fell  into  line  again, 
and  we  all  reached  our  destination  in  good  time  and  found 
comfortable  quarters. 

"  I  was  much  gratified  with  the  progress  and  healthy 
growth  of  this  young  Conference.  It  promises  to  rival  in 
development  its  namesake  of  a  former  day.  The  increase  of 
membership  was  over  six  hundred,  and  the  Conference  was 
greatly  strengthened  by  transfers.  I  indulged  pretty  freely 
in  that  line.  About  sixty  preachers  were  appointed  to  work, 
and  ten  places  were  left  to  be  supplied.  I  have  procured  two 
more  men  and  yet  need  eight  to  fill  up  the  programme. 
Hope  to  find  them  soon.  The  next  General  Conference  will 
doubtless  set  up  a  Conference  in  Colorado,  and  yet  another 
in  Montana.  Besides  the  reasons  intrinsic  to  the  policy,  it 
will  be  a  necessity  growing  out  of  distance,  expense,  and 
population. 

"The  session  was  short  and  the  last  two  days  interrupted 
by  rain.  The  services  were  all  well  attended,  and  the  relig- 
ious impression  decided.  On  Monday  morning  gave  Tom  the 
parting  hand,  and  felt  that  the  benediction  of  faith  and  hope 
and  love  was  upon  him. 

"  I  went  down  to  St.  Joseph  on  Monday,  preached  at 
night  to  a  good  audience,  and  left  next  day  for  Mexico,  where 
the  Missouri  Conference  was  to  meet.  Arrived  at  a  very  un- 
seasonable hour,  but  found  '  mine  host '  on  hand  and  wras 
promptly  conveyed  to  his  hospitable  house.  Here  we  had  a 
most  delightful  Conference.  The  religious  element  was  prom- 
inent from  beginning  to  end.  Bishop  Marvin,  Dr.  McFerrin, 
and  Dr.  Haygood  were  with  me,  and  their  presence  was  a 
blessing,  to  say  nothing  of  their  services.  This  is  a  noble 
Conference  of  earnest,  consecrated  men,  and  the  people  seem 
as  devoted  to  Methodism  as  the  preachers.  They  all  seem  to 
confide  in  church  officers  and  church  order,  calmly,  without 
impatience  or  distrust,  and  accept  results  without  criticism  or 
fault-finding.  I  was  not  bored  with  'peculiar  cases,'  'special 
requests,'  or  '  very  necessitous  circumstances,'  but  pleasantly 
left  to  do  my  duty  as  best  I  could.     Of  course  I  worked  in 


570  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.     tCH±*-  xvnL 

good  spirits,  slept  sweetly,  and  enjoyed  myself  socially,  re- 
ligiously, and  officially.  The  Conference  at  Mexico  will  be 
remembered  as  a  benediction.  About  the  close  I  received 
letters  from  home  informing  me  of  sickness  in  my  family,  and 
contrary  to  my  plan  I  returned  to  Georgia.  On  my  arrival  I 
found  the  sick  doing  well  and  all  likely  to  be  well  again  ere 
long.  I  am  glad  I  came,  on  many  accounts,  and  thank  God 
for  his  mercies  to  me  and  mine.  My  father  has  been  confined 
to  his  bed  again,  but  to-day  lie  is  up  and  is  busy  with  the 
church  p  ind   ready  to  comment  on  all   the  points  he 

Bnds. 

"  I  leave  for  Missouri  in  the  morning— have  two  Confer- 
ences to  hold,  and  will  return  the  last  week  in  October.  Then 
you  shall  hear  from  me  a  little  more  in  detail." 

II  ■  then  went  to  the  \V  St  Louis,  at  Nevada,  and  to 
the  St.  Louts,  at  Arcadia,  from  which  point  we  have  a  letter 

Mollie,  who  was  the  happy  mother  of  a  beautiful  boy. 
The  letter  tells  in  a  few  !   his  own   method   of  family 

govcrnment. 

IDl  \,  October  18,  1872. 

"M\  1m  \i.  Mollie  :  Though  last  you  are  not  the  I 
I  have  delayed  my  answer  for  no  special  reason,  but  have  in- 
tended every  day  to  re-pom  1  to  you. 

:  ought  to  be  thankful  to  God  who  has  given  to  you  a 

-o  well  formed,  SO  bright,  so  smart.  I  (!■  1  not  wonder  that 
you  are  so  proud  of  him.  He  is  a  very  promising  child.  But 
with  hin.  a  very  hea\  risibility.      To   train   him 

right  is  a  grave  task  and  will  require  patience,  judgment,  and 

ilution.  The  main  thing  is,  have  a  steady  plan,  be  uniform. 
Exact  a  prompt  obedience,  but  be  careful  about  your  com- 
mands 1  )o  not  allow  him  to  tease  you  about  anything.  Let 
your  yea  be  yea,  and  jour  nay,  nay.      N  ive  up  your 

authority.  Do  not  use  the  red  much,  only  in  extreme  cases. 
Let  your  rul  mple.     Explain  your  commands. 

Give  reason  for  duty.  Do  not  govern  by  force  of  authority. 
Furnish  right  notions — proper  principles — and  let  the  child 
learn  to  govern  himself.     God  bless  you,  husband,  and  child. 


L87L]  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  571 

Kiss  Hugh  for  grandfather  and  tell  him  to  be  a  good  boy. 

Love  to  all. 

"  Affectionately, 

"  G.  F.  Pierce." 

His  episcopal  district  included  the  Louisiana  Conference, 
which  was  to  meet  in  January,  and  the  Baltimore,  which  met 
in  March,  so  that  he  had  a  few  weeks'  rest  after  the  close  of  the 
St.  Louis  Conference.  He  was  able  to  meet  Bishop  Marvin 
at  Atlanta  and  to  go  with  him  to  the  South  Georgia  at  Thom- 
asville. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 
EPISCOPAL  JOURNEYINGS,   1873-1S74,  AGED  62-63. 

Louisiana  —  Baltimore  —  Colored    Conference  —  District    Conference— 
Views  on  Oregon's  Charms,  etc. — Indian  Mission  Conference — Voy- 
age   by    Bateau— General    Conference    at    Louisville — Salt    Lake — 
It  with  Brigham  Young — California — Oregon — Return  Home. 

He  writes  to  the  Advocate  and  gives  his  own  account  of  his 
work  in  the  early  part  of  the  year  1873.      1 1 » 

"  The  labors  of  the  year  began  with  the  Louisiana  Con- 
ference, in  New  Orleans,  on  the  8th  <»f  January.  We  had  a 
short  .ind  pleasant  session.  Bishop  Keener  was  with  me. 
Then  and  there  the  Mexican  mission  was  inaugurated,  with  a 
missionary  collection  and  the  strong  endorsement  of  the  Con- 
ference and  the  Church.  Our  people  arc  expected  to  respond 
favorably — not  merely  by  verbal  approval,  but  by  large  con- 
tributions. Thi^  enterprise  ought  to  stimulate  our  mission- 
ary zeal.  It  is  our  field  ;  near  t<>  us  ;  the  door  is  open. 
l'r  ividence  has  furnished  a  native  preacher  to  begin  with; 
others  arc  in  training.  Say  not,  'There  are  yet  four  months 
and  then  comcth  harvest.'  Let  the  Church  lift  up  her  eyes 
and  sec  all  things  are  read}'.  I  expect  to  hold  Conference  in 
Mexico,  perhaps  in  the  halls  of  the  Montezumas. 

"  It  was  my  purpose  to  be  present  at  the  Baltimore  Con- 
ference for  a  time,  but  the  sickness  of  Bishop  Paine  made  it 
necessary  for  me  to  hold  it  for  him.  I  was  glad  to  serve  the 
brethren  and  oblige  the  bishop.  Bishop  Doggctt  was  present, 
also,  and  added  greatly  by  his  presence  and  labors  to  the 
interest  of  the  occasion.  The  session  was  more  than  pleasant. 
It  was  delightful,  socially  and  religiously.  The  great  Head 
of  the  Church  was  near  unto  us.      It  was  my   privilege   to 


1873-1,871]         [jfg  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  573 

dedicate  the  Bond-street  Church,  on  the  Sunday  before  Con- 
ference, and  thus  I  was  in  the  city  altogether  about  two 
weeks.  From  all  I  saw  and  heard  I  am  hopeful  of  the  future 
in  Baltimore.  In  the  territory  of  the  Conference  the  Church 
has  more  than  doubled  its  membership  in  seven  years.  All 
this  under  many  discouragements,  hindrances,  and  disabilities. 
The  vital  force  is  strong  and  enduring,  and  now,  relieved  of 
the  pressure  under  which  it  has  struggled,  I  look  for  increas- 
ing prosperity.  The  reports  to  me  since  Conference  are  very 
cheering.  The  Lord  grant  a  large  ingathering  as  well  as  an 
effective  organization  in  every  department  of  labor. 

"  A  day  or  two  at  home  and  I  went  to  Augusta  to  attend 
the  General  Conference  of  the  Colored  M.  E.  Church  in 
America.  Eleven  years  of  my  ministerial  life,  as  station 
preacher  and  presiding  elder,  were  spent  in  and  around  Au- 
gusta, and  I  love  to  go  there  still.  It  is  a  dear  old  place  to  me. 
This  visit  was  fortunate  as  to  time  and  attending  circum- 
stances. A  very  glorious  work  was  in  progress  in  Brother 
Evans'  charge  (St.  James'),  and  I  was  allowed  to  help  him 
without  stint.  My  old  friend  Evans  and  myself  have  been 
yoke  fellows  a  long  time,  and  it  was  a  pleasure  to  relieve  him 
and  rejoice  with  him.  What  a  boon  to  a  preacher  is  a  revival 
of  religion  !  how  refreshing  !  how  strengthening  !  How  a  man 
can  live  without  one  I  never  knew.  The  three  preachers  in 
Augusta  are  a  unit.  They  work  together.  They  have  plan- 
ned a  regular  campaign,  and  are  going  from  victory  to  victory. 
Already  hundreds  have  been  gathered  in.  The  Lord  add 
unto  them  a  thousandfold. 

"  The  Colored  Conference  was  a  called  one,  assembled  for 
a  specific  purpose.  The  death  of  Bishop  Vanderhorst  and 
the  growth  of  the  Church  made  it  necessary  to  strengthen  the 
episcopacy.  After  conferring  together  with  great  unanimity, 
they  elected  three  bishops.  As  to  the  future  fortune  of  this 
organization,  I  am  hopeful.  They  have  made  great  progress. 
The  signs  of  improvement  are  obvious.  It  is  commanding 
public  confidence  and  respect.  Free,  independent,  conser- 
vative, if  the  preachers  are  faithful  to  their  principles  and 


574  Life  and   Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.       iOair.  xix. 

policy,  this  Church  will  be  a  blessing  to  the  colored  race  unci 
to  the  country.  If  ambitious  bad  men,  '  grievous  wolves," 
do  not  enter  in  to  corrupt  them  by  divisions  and  factions,  the 
Colored  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  America  will  be 
strong  and  useful  and  enduring." 

After  the  meeting  of  the  College  of  Bishops  in  May,  he 
wrote  again  to  the  Advocate  : 

"  What  I  consider  my  regular  work  for  the  year  began  the 
first  week  in  April,  at  Bainbridge,  the  seat  of  the  District  Con- 
ference. On  the  way  down  I  stopped  and  preached  at  Al- 
bany, and  next  day  dedicated  a  house  of  worship  at  Camilla. 

"  The  meeting  at  Bainbridge  wa  mt  and  profitable. 

It  was  continued  with  good  results,  I  hear.  I  left  on  Monday 
with  Brother  Hayes,  to  go  across  the  country  on  a  visit  to 
Blakcly  and  Fort  Gaines.  These  lower  counties  of  Geoi 
have  been  wellnigh  inundated,  and  travel  was  difficult.  <  >n 
the  way  we  got  lost,  and  journeyed  many  miles  without  sight 
of  house  or  man.  At  last  we  came  to  a  habitation,  and  learn- 
ed from  the  proprietor  that  we  had  fallen  upon  the  only 
practicable  route,  could  not  have  made  the  trip  any  other 
Was  this  an  accident  or  a  providence?     Philosophy 

may  study  the  doctrine  of  chances,  and  make  out  a  01 
coincidence.  1  prefer  to  believe  that  God  directed  our  st< 
We  reached  lilakely  about  sundown,  after  a  fifty  miles'  ri 
much  to  the  su:  f  the  citizens,  who,  familiar  with  tin- 

road  and  streams,  had  concluded  that  we  could  not  reach  the 
zigzag  path  along  which  providence  had  guided  our  progr< 
The  sermon,  I  hope,  will  yield  good  fruit.     The  next  day  went 
on  to  Fort  G  ind  preached  at  night.     This  was  my  first 

visit  to  these  lower  counties,  and  I  was  greatly  interested.  The 
lands  are  fine,  the  general  topography  of  the  country  beauti- 
ful. The  pine  forests  are  magnificent,  and  some  of  the  streams 
with  their  rush  and  roar,  their  high  bluffs  and  receding  hill-, 
cont  ly  with  the  general  features  of  the  landscape. 

As  the  preachers  often  say,  in  reporting  from  a  new  field  of 
labor,  '  I  was  well  received — kindly  entertained,' and  hope  for 
good  results  from  this  hasty  visit  to  the  brethren. 


1873-1574.]  Ljfe  a)hi  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  575 

"  One  day  at  home,  and  then  away  to  Orangeburg,  S.  C. 

"  I  spent  a  night  in  Charleston,  and  left  by  the  Northeast- 
ern Railroad,  to  meet  an  appointment  at  Marion.  Preached 
at  night  to  a  large  house,  lodged  with  my  good  friend  and 
Brother,  Kelly,  and  next  morning,  as  we  were  about  to  start 
for  Georgetown,  received  the  intelligence  that  the  Rev.  Charles 
Betts  had  left  for  heaven.  His  death  was  sudden,  but  he  died 
well.  When  I  was  a  little  boy,  he  was  junior  preacher  on  the 
Appalachee  circuit,  in  which  I  lived,  and  he  was  often  at  my 
father's  house.  I  learned  to  love  him  then,  and  the  judgment 
of  maturer  years  confirmed  the  affections  of  childhood.  He 
was  warm,  genial,  hearty,  a  steadfast  friend,  a  veteran  minis- 
ter, useful  in  his  effective  days  ;  in  his  superannuation  ripe 
and  ready  for  his  departure. 

"  The  presiding  elder  had  chartered  a  steamboat  for  the 
trip,  and  on  Wednesday  morning  a  goodly  number  of  preach- 
ers and  delegates  took  their  places  on  the  Halcyon,  for  old 
Georgetown.  We  were  crowded,  but  congenial  company  and 
a  common  interest  in  the  work  to  be  done,  made  the  descent 
of  the  Pedee  not  merely  tolerable  but  pleasant,  a  time  to  be 
remembered.  It  was  the  more  interesting  to  me  because  I 
was  passing  through  my  father's  first  appointment,  the  circuit 
he  travelled  sixty-seven  years  ago.  The  thoughts  and  feel- 
ings, the  hopes  and  fears  suggested  by  the  association  I  will 
not  weary  your  readers  to  tell.  We  reached  Georgetown 
next  day,  and  proceeded  at  once  to  the  Conference  and  got 
to  work.  We  went  through  with  all  the  usual  details,  had 
preaching  morning  and  night,  and  on  the  Sabbath  added  a 
love-feast  and  a  Sunday-school  meeting,  It  was  one  of  the 
most  impressive  I  have  attended.  On  Monday,  by  the  same 
route,  but  by  another  and  better  boat,  we  left  for  a  church 
dedication  at  Bennettsville.  We  arrived  about  9  P.M.  on  Tues- 
day, and  slept  sweetly  at  the  parsonage.  Brother  Porter,  the 
pastor,  and  the  good  people  of  Bennettsville,  have  magnified 
themselves  and  the  Gospel  by  erecting  a  beautiful  house  of  wor- 
ship. It  is  a  gem  of  its  kind.  To  my  great  delight  the  debt 
was  paid,  and  there  was  no  begging  to  do.      In  consideration 


676  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.       £<'""••  XIX 

of  this  relief  I  preached  again  at  3  P.M.,  and  then  rode  twelve 
miles  to  Society  Hill,  to  spend  the  night  with  Brother  Town- 
send.  Next  morning  I  took  the  train  for  Florence,  to  meet 
another  District  Conference.  Before  I  pass  on,  let  me  say  that 
the  region  through  which  I  have  been  passing  is,  to  my  eye, 
the  most  beautiful  section  of  the  State.  Sorry  to  see  so  much 
of  it  devoted  to  cotton,  so  little  to  corn.  When  will  the 
Southern  people  learn  the  common-sense  economy  of  life  ? 

"  We  had  a  good  meeting  at  Florence.  If  the  grand  old 
State  could  be  relieved  of  its  oppressions,  could  shake  off 
the  vampires  that  are  draining  her  blood,  and  the  people 
would  reform  their  agricultural  plans,  Florence  might  become 
a  very  considerable  place.  It  is  well  located,  four  railroads 
converge  there,  the  health  is  good,  and  the  surrounding 
country  well  suited  to  farming.  Strange  to  say,  the  people 
are  hopeful  of  the  future.  I  left  on  Monday,  9  A.M.,  ami 
reached  home  at  II  P.M.,  two  hundred  and  fort}-  miles  dis- 
tant.     So  much  for  railro 

"Three  day-  at  home,  and  I  kit  for  Nashville,  to  attend 
the  Annual  hops  and  the  Board  of  Mis- 

"  V  »v.  let  me  say  to  all  and  singular,  it  is  no  use  to  write 
to    me    abo  here  or    there,   to  district  meetings  or 

otherwise.  My  work  is  laid  out  tiil  the  first  of  Noevmber, 
ami  cannot  I  ed.     Every  day  i-  provided  for.     I  can- 

not make  time,  ami  my  work  is  equal  to  my  utmost  capacity. 
me  places  and  some  presiding  ciders  will  be  disappointed. 
I  c  mil"''  help  it.  '  If  the  Lord  will,'  I  will  get  around  in 
time.  I  know  that  each  place  is  more  important  than  any 
otJicr  place,  but  I  cannot  get  to  all,  and  must  needs  exercise 
my  own  judgment  a  little." 

He  was  still,  in  addition  to  his  heavy  labors,  agent  for 
Kmury  College.  lb'  was  fruitful  in  resources.  Week  after 
week  he  sent  out  his  bulletins  through  the  SoutJicm  Christian 
Advocate.  lie  preached,  visited,  begged,  borrowed,  and 
kept  the  workmen  at  their  places,  and  the  bills  promptly  paid. 
To  do    this  he  had   to  give  constant  thought  to  the  work  of 


1873-1874.]  ufe  ami  fimes  0f  George  F.  Pierce.  577 

financiering,  for  which  he  had  no  taste,  but  much  more  apt- 
ness than  men  who  knew  his  generous  noble  nature  gave  him 
credit  for.  The  people  of  Georgia,  the  friends  of  Emory 
College,  can  never  know  the  anxiety  and  the  toil  that  his  un- 
paid work  cost  him.  He  had  been  so  unceasingly  at  work 
and  worked  so  hard  that  it  began  to  tell  upon  him,  and  his 
friends  remonstrated  with  him.  He  was  impelled  to  enter 
upon  his  own  defence.     He  says  : 

"  My  brethren  are  rebuking  me  for  what  they  call  over- 
doing— wearing  out  before  my  time.  Is  it  not  written  : 
'  The  zeal  of  thine  house  hath  eaten  me  up  ?  '  Was  this 
charged  as  a  fault  ?  I  trow  not.  If  I  had  no  higher  motive 
I  should  go  on  my  way  for  example's  sake.  The  tendency, 
even  among  preachers,  is  in  the  opposite  direction.  These 
vacations  and  visits  to  the  springs  and  mountains  and  to  the 
North  have  an  ugly  look  to  me.  I  am  afraid  of  them.  My 
ideas  of  ministerial  fidelity  do  not  allow  it  in  my  case.  But 
I  judge  no  man.  I  only  suggest  that  all  movements  in  the 
direction  of  self-indulgence  will  bear  watching.  In  the  grass 
of  these  green  pastures,  where  the  flesh  seeks  rest,  there  is  a 
snake,  and  his  name  is  Satan. 

"  No,  brethren,  I  am  not  overdoing.  My  health  is  good, 
my  strength  is  firm.  The  commission  says  :  '  Go.'  How 
dare  I  stay  at  home  and  rest  ?  I  see  the  men  of  the  world 
busy  ;  they  rise  early,  sit  up  late,  eat  the  bread  of  careful- 
ness, tax  brain,  muscle,  time,  work,  work,  work,  and  I  hear 
no  complaint.  No  blame  attaches.  They  do  it  to  obtain 
corruptible  things — silver  and  gold.  Shall  not  an  incorrupti- 
ble inheritance  stimulate  us  to  superior  diligence  ?  It  ought, 
and,  by  the  grace  of  God,  for  myself  it  shall. 

''The  spring  and  summer  work,  and  observations  made, 
have  all  been  suggestive.  I  have  seen  some  things  to  cheer 
and  encourage  ;  many  to  bewail  and  deplore.  I  am  more 
and  more  satisfied  that  the  introduction  of  organs  and  choirs, 
like  'Alexander  the  coppersmith,  have  done  us  much  evil.' 
In  many  cases  they  have  been  the  occasion  of  division,  dis- 
cord, variance,  hate,  heart-burnings  in  the  churches.  This  is 
37 


578  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.       [Chap.  xix. 

all  wrong,  I  grant.  Yet  it  is  as  fair  and  just  to  lay  the  blame 
on  those  who  gave  the  '  offence,'  as  upon  those  who  '  of- 
fended.' 

"  I  find  churches  which  paid  thousands  for  an  organ 
and  only  gave  hundreds  for  missions.  Another — straining, 
the  people  say,  to  support  a  preacher,  yet  raising  from 
$1,200  to  $1,800  to  buy  an  organ.  But  they  have  not  only 
absorbed  money,  they  have  put  Methodist  worship  into  a 
straight  jacket.  All  freedom  is  gone.  Nothing  is  left,  in 
many  places,  but  a  petrified  respectability.  Singing  to  the 
praise  of  God  is  substituted  by  music,  so  called.  The  whole 
thing  is  so  incongruous,  so  out  of  harmony  with  genuine 
spiritual  Methodism,  that  praying  and  preaching  are  both 
hampered  by  it.  The  very  atmosphere  of  the  house,  when 
these  performances  come  off,  is  infected.  It  is  like  an  east 
wind  on  the  nervous  system.  No  will  or  resolution  can  re- 
sist it.     On  this  more  anon. 

"The  pew  system  has  been  tried  by  five  Methodist 
churches  (perhaps  more)  in  Georgia.  It  worked  something 
akin  to  death  in  them  all.  The  only  chance  for  a  continued 
life  was  to  abandon  the  policy.  The  plan  of  renting  or  sell- 
ing pews  in  the  house  of  God  is  an  abomination,  a  downright 
wickedness.  It  is  largely  responsible  for  the  fact  that  but  a 
small  fraction  of  our  city  populations,  cither  North  or  South, 
attend  the  ministry  of  the  word.  As  far  as  I  know,  in 
Georgia  we  are  clear  of  this  body  of  death.  But  we  are 
falling  into  another  custom  not  much  better.  I  mean  the 
promiscuous  seating  of  our  congregations.  The  time  has  come 
for  a  note  of  warning  on  this   subject.     I  will  not  discuss  the 

ject  now,  but  may  hereafter.  In  the  meantime  I  avow 
myself  in  favor  of  the  old  rule.  '  Let  the  men  and  the  women 
sit  apart  in  all  our  congregations.'  It  may  be  pleasant  and 
convenient  for  families  to  occupy  the  same  pew,  but  pleasure 
and  convenience  ought  to  be  given  up  for  the  sake  of  re- 
ligious interest.  This  family  arrangement  cannot  be  allowed 
without  conceding  the  privilege  to  other  parties  and  to  all. 
And  here  is  the   evil.     Young   gentlemen  and   ladies,  as  I 


1873-1 S74.]         Life  an(j  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  579 

have  seen,  come  in  groups  and  march  along  the  aisles,  and 
with  bows  and  ceremonies  and  graceful  joining  of  hands  pass 
to  their  places  in  pairs,  and,  seated  side  by  side,  whisper  and 
giggle  and  fan,  and  indulge  in  all  the  amenities  of  private  life. 
Now  what  I  say  is,  all  these  things  are  out  of  place  in  the 
house  of  God.  The  church  is  not  a  parlor,  where  people 
meet  to  exchange  civilities,  and  brandish  the  graces  of  dress 
or  form  or  manner.  Sobriety,  reverence,  awe,  are  demanded. 
*  God  is  in  his  holy  temple.'  Now  remembering  that  our 
congregations  are  largely  made  up  of  young  people— gay, 
festive,  buoyant,  thoughtless,  ay,  and  carnal  too — everybody 
knows  that  this  commingling  is  unfriendly  to  serious  thought, 
to  the  impression  of  the  word,  and  to  religious  action,  even 
if  the  heart  should  be  touched.  In  this  arrangement  the 
devil  has  the  advantage  of  the  preacher  and  people. 

"The  Discipline  still  insists  on  free  seats,  but  we  cannot 
have  them,  in  fact,  without  the  separation  of  the  sexes. 
Without  this  there  are  barriers  and  delicacies  and  fears  of 
intrusion  which  embarrass  the  feelings  and  virtually  limit  the 
privilege  of  the  incomer.  In  my  judgment  a  congregation 
of  people  gathered  together  for  the  worship  of  God  ought, 
in  its  order  and  arrangement  of  manners,  to  be  discriminated 
from  all  other  public  assemblies.  Everything  which  tends  to 
commonize  the  occasion  and  assimilate  it  in  order  and  like- 
ness to  the  political  or  social  gatherings  of  the  people  ought, 
as  far  as  possible,  to  be  avoided.  Oh  that  Methodism 
would'  maintain  her  individuality,  her  uniqueness,  her  inde- 
pendence !  Mr.  Wesley  was  a  wise  man,  and  there  is  a  pro- 
found philosophy  in  the  system  he  wrought  out,  even  in  what 
people  less  wise  consider  little  things.  Our  Church  has  lost 
power  and  prestige  by  every  surrender  of  what  was  distinc- 
tive, and  every  approximation  to  the  customs  of  other  people. 
There  is  religion  as  well  as  history  in  the  account  of  the  sling 
and  the  stone. 

"  I  have  found  love-feasts  much  neglected,  and  when  held 
greatly  impaired  in  their  value  by  sitting  with  open  doors 
and  letting  in  a  promiscuous  crowd.     This  is  all  wrong — the 


Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.       tCuAr-  XIX 

offspring  of  a  silly,  mawkish  liberality.  Ever)-  church  has  a 
right  to  hold  its  meetings  in  its  own  way.  Our  book  of  law, 
in  regard  to  love-feasts,  prescribes  the  mode,  specifies  who 
may  attend,  and  limits  the  time.  No  preacher  has  a  right  to 
change  any  item  of  this  arrangement.  Let  every  brother 
conform  to  the  rule.  None  but  a  Methodist  has  any  right  in 
the  premises,  and  the  courtesy  which  admits  others  has  its 
legal  boundaries.  No  one  has  any  right  to  complain  that  he 
was  not  invited.  A  love-feast  is  a  private  Methodist  meeting 
family  gathering,  where  all  the  children  are  expected  to 
speak  in  the  freedom  of  mutual  confidence  and  affection, 
unembarrassed  by  the  presence  of  strangers.  Let  us  return 
to  the  old  path-." 

11  found  the  tide  had  set  against  him  and  those  of  his 
kind.  The  Methodists  had  apparently  resolved  to  be  like 
other  people.  A  hundred  years' of  experiment  with  their 
We&leyan  peculiarities  seems  to  have  well  satisfied  many  of 
the  leading  men  among  them  that  the}-  were  impracticable, 
and  quietly,  but  persistently  and  rapidly,  changes  were  be- 
made  which  were  robbing  the  Church  of  all  her  distinct 
•ires.  To  make  a  permanent  pastorate,  to  have  more 
elegance    in    architecture,   to  pay  less  attention  to  the  sub- 

tive  in  religion,  to  have  more  artistic  music,   to  wipe  out 

tral  rules,  to  open  wide  the  door  of  the  Church  to  all 

>ften  the  severe  doctrines  of  orthodoxy,  to  allow 

everywhere  promiscuous  sittings,  to   give  up  the  mourners' 

bench,  to  sit  or  stand  at  prayer,  to  introduce  a  ritual,  to  ob- 

.    to   decorate  churches  as  heathen    temples  were 

decorated  before  Christ  came,  and  as  Catholic  churches  had 

been  decorated  for  over  a  thousand  years  ;  he  found  all  these 

things  allowed,  endorsed,  and  advocated  by  some  Methodist 

preachers   and  his  heart  was  sad.      His  warning  voice   was 

clear,  and   though  he  may  have  sounded  the  note  in  vain,  he 

inded  it  loud.  Revolutions  never  go  backward,  and,  alas  ! 
history  too  sadly  repeats  itself.  The  wisdom,  or  unwisdom, 
of  his  utterances  will  be  manifest  in  our  history  even  while 
these  pages  are  read,  and  it  may  be  found  that  his  foreboding 


1873-1874]  iife  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  581 

fear  may  have  been  needless,  or  it  may  be  found  that  the  man 
was  a  seer,  and  that  even  now  we  may  hear  the  roar  of  the 
breakers,  and  turn  the  wheel  and  steer  away  from  danger 
ere  it  is  too  late. 

He  visited  a  District  Conference  in  Albany,  Ga.  He 
found  a  thrifty,  enterprising,  hospitable  little  city,  in  which 
there  was  too  much  coldness  and  formality  for  his  taste,  and, 
as  is  usual  with  him,  he  threw  into  his  account  of  his  visit 
judicious  reflections.     He  says: 

"  Regeneration  is  better  than  the  succession,  a  holy  life 
is  of  more  worth  than  baptism,  the  indwelling  Spirit  of  God 
more  to  be  desired  than  architecture,  or  music,  or  the 
mummeries  of  ritualism." 

The  Church  in  Brunswick  was  making  an  earnest  struggle 
to  pay  a  debt  over  its  parsonage,  and  Rev.  Mr.  Fulwood,  the 
pastor,  had,  as  a  measure  of  relief,  decided  to  have  made  a 
photograph  of  the  famous  Wesley  Oak,  under  which  Charles 
Wesley  preached  on  St.  Simon's  Island,  and  Bishop  Pierce 
and  his  father,  and  Bishop  Wightman  were  to  stand  under  its 
shade.     This  was  done  and  the  picture  made. 

In  September  he  went  his  way  to  the  Indian  Mission  Con- 
ference, in  company  with  Dr.  McFerrin  and  Dr.  Sargeant. 
Of  this  he  says  : 

"As  I  am  snugly  laid  by  at  Brother  Ewing's  house  and 
home,  on  this  very  cold  day,  I  obey  your  editorial  behest,  and 
send  you  a  brief  letter. 

"  The  Indian  Mission  Conference  met  on  the  23d  inst.,  at 
Tahlequah,  the  capital  of  the  Cherokee  Nation.  The  town 
is  small — having  no  importance  except  as  the  head-quarters 
of  the  Government.  The  house  in  which  are  the  Senate- 
chamber,  Council-room,  and  Executive  Department,  with 
other  offices,  is  a  substantial,  well-arranged  brick  structure. 
Near  by  is  the  Cherokee  Orphan  Asylum,  a  noble  charity, 
supported  by  the  nation.  Ninety  boys  and  girls  are  now  re- 
ceiving instruction  there.  It  is  proposed  to  make  it  industrial 
as  well  as  academic.  This  enterprise  is  a  monument  to  mis- 
sions and    Christianity.     Five   miles   distant   is  the   Female 


582  Life  and  Tunes  of  George  F.  Pierce.       [Cuxv.  xix. 

Seminary.  We  had  our  Sunday  Conference  services  at  the 
Asylum.  The  day  was  rainy,  cold,  and  gloomy,  but  the  con- 
gregation was  large,  and  seemed  deeply  interested.  The 
Missionary  Secretary-  was  there — a  patriarch  in  the  midst  of 
three  generations.  I  never  knew  till  now  how  antique  and 
venerable  my  old  friend  was.  I  was  present  when  gray- 
haired  Indian  men  and  women  would  tell  how  they  heard 
him  when  they  were  boys  and  girls,  and  describe  scenes  and 
incidents  that  would  make  his  face  glow  and  his  eye  moisten. 
Services  rendered  forty-five  years  ago,  the  fruit  of  which  still 
appears,  entitle  him  to  esteem  and  veneration,  which  he 
would  not  claim  on  the  score  of  age.  Verily  he  had  a  rich 
time  out  here  with  his  old  friends  and  their  descendants — 
rich  in  memories,  hopes,  and  prospects. 

"  The  Conference  was  pleasant  in  all  respects.  The  hos- 
pitality of  the  people  was  open-handed  and  hearty,  the  relig- 
ious services  well  attended,  and  the  general  impression  favor- 
able to  our  interest.  We  closed  early  on  Monday  morning. 
I  came  out  and  preached  at  the  Seminar)-  at  night.  Drs. 
McFerrin  and  Sargeant  and  Brother  Blair  left  me,  and  went 
their  way  to  Texas,  all  well  and  happy  in  what  they  had 
seen  and  heard  and  done.  Dr.  Sargeant  preached  twice,  and 
left  a  very  pleasant  savor  personally  and  ministerially.  But 
he  has  been  taking  '  notes,'  and  I  expect  will  '  print  'em.'  I 
part  with  him. 

More  men  and  more  money  are  needed  to  occupy  the 
whole  field.  We  want  robust,  fearless,  self-denying  men. 
The  dainty,  the  timid,  have  no  business  here.  The  rides 
are  long,  the  work  hard,  the  fare  plain — exposure  in  wind 
ami  weather  very  great,  often  severe — pay  scanty,  and  noth- 
ing earthly  to  invite  but  Nature  in  the  majesty  of  her  moun- 
tains,  the  verdure  of  her  plains  and  rolling  prairies — her 
bright,  beautiful  waters,  and  the  blue  heavens  overhead. 
Who  will  volunteer  ?  Let  him  speak  or  write  to  me.  On 
the  spiritual  side,  there  is  religion  to  be  enjoyed,  souls  to  be 

•Dr.  McFerrin. 


1873-1874.]         Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce. 


J83 


saved,   and   the   great  Master's   smile  of  approval  now,  all 
along,  and  then  forever  and  ever. 

"  I  love  to  come  here — to  get  away  from  the  artificial, 
and  look  upon  the  natural — to  see  the  Gospel  moving  about 
on  its  mission  of  love  and  mercy,  a  benediction  to  the  aged 
and  the  young.  I  heard  the  Cherokees  sing  a  song  last  Sun- 
day in  their  own  language.  I  did  not  understand  a  word, 
but  the  tune,  with  its  associations  and  memories,  melted  my 
heart — my  wings  grew,  and  heaven  felt  very  near." 

He  went  to  the  Little  Rock  Conference,  and  thence  to 
Arkadelphia,  of  which  journey  he  writes  : 

"  Having  an  appointment  at  Arkadelphia,  Dr.  Haygood 
and  myself  left  Saturday  morning  on  the  Cairo  and  Fulton 
Road.  By  the  way,  the  smoothest  new  road  I  ever  rode 
upon,  and  the  most  striking  illustration  of  the  power  of  a 
well-located  road  to  develop  a  country — to  divert  trade  from 
its  old  channels — to  build  towns,  and  stimulate  enterprise. 

"  Soon  after  our  arrival  at  our  destination  the  rain  began 
to  fall,  and  by  Monday  morning  the  country  was  flooded. 
Despite  the  weather  we  had  a  fair  congregation  on  Sunday  at 
eleven  o'clock,  but  no  service  in  the  afternoon  or  night. 

"  How  shall  we  get  to  Camden  ?  became  a  serious  ques- 
tion. After  much  debate  and  many  suggested  routes,  it  was 
determined  to  try  the  river  in  a  two-oared  boat.  This  mode 
of  travel  for  a  hundred  miles,  with  uncertain  weather  and  a 
set  of  land-lubbers,  necessitated  an  outfit  in  the  way  of  food 
and  cooking  utensils.  Brother  Crouch,  a  lay  delegate,  who 
was  to  be  pilot  and  steersman,  undertook  to  make  all  the 
necessary  arrangements,  and  well  did  he  perform  his  task. 

"  When  all  was  ready,  we  marched,  a  goodly  company,  to 
the  river.  The  baggage  all  safely  stored,  we  took  our  respec- 
tive places — Crouch  at  the  stern,  Mr.  Williams,  the  oarsman, 
next,  then  Haygood  and  myself  about  midship,  Hearn  and 
Wells  in  front.  The  word  was  given  and  we  pushed  off  from 
the  shore.  The  river  was  up,  the  current  strong,  and  our 
headway  was  very  satisfactory.  Presently  the  clouds  began 
to  break,   the   sun  to  shine,  and  when    we   contrasted   our 


5S4  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.       [Chap,  xix 

smooth,  gentle  and  yet  rapid  motion,  with  the  slow  progress 
and  rough  jolting  we  should  have  experienced  on  land,  we 
congratulated  each  other  and  rejoiced  together. 

"  During  the  first  twenty  miles,  it  became  apparent  that 
Mr.  Williams  would  break  down — give  out  unless  relieved  by 

j  means.  So,  reaching  a  farm-house  on  the  bank,  we 
landed,  and  by  consent,  indeed  at  the  suggestion  of  the  good 
lady  of  the  house,  we  improvised  a  couple  of  paddles  from 
the  palings  about  the  yard.  The}-  were  assigned  to  Hay- 
good  and  myself;  Hearn  and  Wells  were  to  spell  W.  Now, 
fully  equipped,   and  the  whole  crew    assigned  to  duty,  our 

;rcss  was  wonderful.  We  made  the  whole  distance  (one 
hundred  miles)  in  twelve  hours.      I  low  we  camped  at  night, 

made  Coffee  and  broiled  bacon,  and  ate  abundantly,  and 
had  prayers,  and  slept  sweetly,  and  arose  early,  and  went  on 

our  way,  waking  all  the  echoes  along  shore  (and  some  of  the 

people  too),  have  they  not  all  been  chronicled  by  my  ftllow~ 

paddl 

"  Well,  we  all  arrived  in  good  time  at  the  Camden  wharf, 
and   were    hailed    as    the    '  Arkadelphia    Pacl  As    the 

Qgth    and   toughness  of  my    arm   have   been  commended 

and  bepraised,  I  shall  say  nothing  about  how  stiff  and  sore 

it  w  •  or  two.     Let  that  pass.      I  made  the  trip  in 

1   order   and   good   time,  and   shall   always  take  a  boat   in 

specially  if  the  river  is  high,  and  the 

current  in  my  favor. 

"  When   we  came  to  talk   with  the   preachers  about   their 

;bles  by  roads  and  floods,  bogging  here  and  swimming 
there,  loss  of  baggage  and  peril  of  life,  we  were  more  than 

r  satisfied  that  our  novel  mode  of  getting  to  Conference 
was  wisely  chosen.  Indeed,  many  of  the  brethren  did  not 
get  in  for  several  days,  being  constrained  to  tack  about,  head- 
ing streams,  and  hunting  bridges." 

<  >f  this  notable  voyage  down  the  Ouchita,  his  travelling 
companion,  Dr.  Haygood,  says  in  his  funeral  sermon  : 

"  I  recall  a  scene  in  the  autumn  of  1873,  in  the  swamps  of 
Arkansas.      He  had  spent  the  Sunday  in  Arkadelphia;    on 


A.  G.   HAYGOOD,   D.  D 


187S-1W4]         Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  585 

the  following  Wednesday  he  was  to  open  the  annual  session 
of  the  Little  Rock  Conference,  in  Camden,  a  hundred  miles 
downthe  Ouchita  River.  There  were  no  steamboats  at  Arka- 
delphia,  and  there  was  no  railroad  between  the  towns.-  A 
two  days'  rain  had  made  the  stage  routes  impassable,  but  the 
faithful  bishop  felt  that  he  must  keep  his  appointment.  With 
two  or  three  friends  he  embarked  upon  the  swollen  river  in  a 
little  row-boat  that  was  found  at  Arkadelphia.  A  beautiful 
trait  in  his  character  came  out  during  that  hundred  miles 
down  the  river.  Finding  the  oarsman  they  had  hired  wearied 
with  his  over-full  boat,  the  good  bishop,  who  was  every  inch 
a  man,  improvised  two  rude  oars,  and  taking  one  in  his  own 
hands,  made  stroke  for  stroke  with  the  oarsman  to  the  end  of 
his  journey.  Sixty  miles  down  the  river  the  little  party 
camped  for  the  night.  Attracted  by  the  camp-fire,  a  com- 
pany of  men,  rough  and  wild-looking  fellows  they  were,  came 
out  of  the  dark  woods  to  see  what  it  meant.  They  spent  an 
hour  at  the  camp,  hearing  and  asking  him  questions.  Be- 
fore they  left  the  bishop  proposed  that  they  join  in  the  devo- 
tions of  the  evening.  I  can  see  and  hear  him  now,  as  he 
read  and  expounded  a  portion  of  the  word  of  God,  and  then 
kneeling  upon  the  ground,  asked  the  blessing  of  heaven  upon 
us  all.  It  was  all  after  the  example  and  in  the  spirit  of  Him, 
who,  weary  with  his  journey,  sat  resting  by  Jacob's  well  and 
yet  preached  a  sermon  to  one  lone  woman  of  the  Samaritans." 

The  bishop  continues  : 

"  About  one  o'clock  A.M.,  Monday,  we  (the  boat's  com- 
pany) left  in  a  hack  for  the  railroad.  We  had  a  rough  ride, 
made  slow  time,  but  made  connection.  Once  more  in  a  car, 
we  felt  that  the  troubles  of  travel  were  past.  We  went  through 
Little  Rock  in  the  night,  crossed  the  Arkansas  River,  and  took 
the  train  for  Memphis,  where  we  arrived  according  to  sched- 
ule, for  breakfast.  Resting  a  few  hours  and  comparing  dis- 
tances and  time,  Brother  Haygood  and  I  found  it  necessary 
to  shake  hands  and  part — one  for  Georgia  and  the  other  for 
Nashville.  On  this  trip  I  verified  Solomon's  words,  '  two 
are  better  than  one.'     My  good  friend  and  brother  Haygood, 


586  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.        [dm-,  xix. 

beguiled  many  a  weary  hour.  One  feels  safer  and  stronger 
with  a  helper  by  his  side.  This  companionship  was  a  bless- 
ing indeed.  The  interchange  of  views  on  Church  economy, 
mutual  comments  on  passing  events,  common  sympathies  and 
common  interests,  refreshed  me  on  my  journey,  and  cheered 
me  in  my  rest.  I  trust  he  fared  as  well  and  enjoyed  as  much. 
If  the  Lord  will,  I  hope  to  repeat  oftentimes  our  communion 
of  travel  and  talk,  of  labor  and  rest. 

"  From  several  points,  since  my  return,  I  have  had  cheer- 
ing reports  of  the  work  and  the  workmen.  An  Annual  Con- 
ference is  a  blessing  to  the  preachers.  The  itinerancy  could 
not  survive  if  they  were  stricken  out.  I  low  they  revive  and 
renew  .1  preacher's  spirit  !  How  they  quicken  and  tone  his 
resolution  !  How  they  inspire  him  to  hold  on  and  do  better  ! 
What  community  of  hearts  and  hopes,  of  sympathies  and  in- 
terests !  There  is  nothing  like  these  Conferences  of  Method- 
ist preachers.  They  are  always  new.  Coming  but  once  a 
year,  they  are  always  fresh,  each  one  a  festival,  a  feast  of  fat 
things  for  the  soul  and  the  body,  the  preachers  and  the 
people. 

"  It  was  my  privilege  to  be  at  both  the  Georgia  Confer- 
ences. I  was  at  home  in  more  senses  than  one,  and  there 
was  no  official  responsibility  to  burden  my  thoughts  or  check 
the  flow  of  enjoyment.  The  presence  of  our  senior  bishop 
was  a  joy  to  us  all.  His  preaching  was  a  blessing.  His  Con- 
ference talks  were  wise,  well  timed,  and  greatly  appreciated, 
and  I  doubt  if  he  ever  presided  in  any  Conference  with  more 
satisfaction  to  the  preachers,  or  left  a  more  hallowed  savor 
than  at  Xewnan  and  Macon.  My  presence  in  Georgia 
amounts  to  nothing,  but  the  advent  of  Bishop  Keener  at 
Macon  was  an  event  of  interest.  Many  of  the  brethren  had 
never  heard  him  or  seen  him,  and  his  visit  gratified  their  curi- 
osity, and  made  them  long  for  a  more  intimate  acquaintance. 
They  hope  he  will  come  again  and  come  often. 

"  After  a  few  days'  rest  at  home,  I  wound  up  my  year's 
campaign  at  the  Florida  Conference.  On  the  way  I  dedi- 
cated a  church  at  Live  Oak,  and  preached  one  night  at  Lake 


1873-1874.]  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  587 

City.     Dr.    McFerrin  was  with  me.      We  had  a  good  time 
among  the  oranges." 

The  beginning  of  the  year  1874  was  a  time  of  needed 
rest.  He  had  given  up  farming,  and  now  gave  himself  en- 
tirely to  his  ministerial  work.  In  April  he  sends  the  following 
hastily- written  note  to  his  dear  Ann  : 

"April  3,  1874. 

"  My  Dear  Ann:  I  beg  a  thousand  pardons.  I  believe 
I  left  you  to-day  without  a  parting  kiss.  You  know  it  was 
not  indifference  or  neglect.  Bless  your  darling  old  soul,  I 
would  not  hurt  your  feelings  for  every  thing  earthly.  I 
thought  I  went  all  around,  but  believe  I  missed  you,  the 
chiefest  of  all. 

"  Claude  is  better,  is  up  and  cheerful.  God  bless  you 
and  keep  you." 

The  General  Conference  met  in  Louisville,  and  again  his 
father  was  a  member.  He  and  Haygood  and  his  father  had 
their  quarters  at  an  excellent  hotel.  The  bishop  was  worn 
with  his  work,  but  he  allowed  no  evidence  of  it  to  appear. 
He  wrote  regularly  home. 

"  May  5,  1874. 

"My  Dear  Ann:  Received  your  letter  yesterday.  Glad 
to  hear  from  you.  Everybody  sorry  you  did  not  come.  I 
am  pleasantly  situated.     Pa  keeps  up.     Is  a  wonder  to  all. 

"  Read  my  address  yesterday.  Was  well  received.  Had 
many  compliments.  I  am  worried  with  the  desire  to  hear  me 
preach.  I  am  trying  to  get  off.  Have  no  heart  to  preach 
when  I  am  expected  to  show  off.    I  am  going  to  the  country. 

"  It  is  cold,  cloudy  and  wet.  Am  pretty  well.  Take  care 
of  yourself.     Love  to  all." 

To  his  Grand-daughter. 

"  May  9,  1874. 

"  My  Dear  Carrie  :  Here  I  am  on  the  platform,  in  the 
presence  of  the  Conference  and  a  crowd  of  spectators,  writing 
to  you.     Not  much  to  say.     Not   one  of  you  writes  to  me 


588  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.       [Chat  xix. 

except  Grandmother.  I  thought  you  promised.  So  did 
Mother  and  Duly.  But  you  have  all  forgotten  me.  I  have  a 
right  to  complain.  I  ought  to  get  a  letter  every  day.  So 
many  of  you.  None  of  you  are  busier  than  I  am.  I  write,  so 
can  you.  I  have  written  to  Mother,  Tierce,  Aunt  C,  and 
three  or  four  times  to  Grandmother.  I  mean  to  try  you  all 
and  quit.  So  lookout.  Do  better  or  I  am  done.  I  promised 
ill  your  Mother's  letter  to  put  in  a  bill  of  fare  (but  forgot  it), 
that  you  might  all  compare  your  table  with  mine.  Unless 
.  have  improved  since  I  left,  I  beat  you  badly.  Hope  as 
ing  opens  you  will  do  better.  I  low  about  the  strawberries  ? 
Plenty  of  them,  I  hope.  None  here.  It  is  warm  to-day  for 
the  first.  Trust  you  have  some  sunshine  now  in  more  than 
name.  We  are  getting  along  slowly.  Have  much  to  do, 
time  of  adjournment  uncertain." 

To  his  Wife. 

"  May  14,  1874. 
"  A  thousand  blessings  on  your  dear  old  head  for  your 
last  letter.  I  have  no  time  to  write  this  morning,  but  drop  a 
line  to  keep  up  the  connection.  Conference  is  moving  slowly. 
Hope  to  get  through  next  week.  We  keep  well.  You  see 
by  the  Advocati  what  is  going  on.  Sorry  Doc  did  not  come. 
Hope  to  see  him  yet.  I  have  written  to  all  but  Ann.  Take 
her  next.  I  l<>ng  to  see  you.  My  heart  warms  when  I  think 
of  you.  Love  me,  pray  for  me.  God  bless  you.  Love  to 
all." 

To  his  Grand-daughter. 

"  May  16,  1S74. 
'*  MY  Dear  Duly  :  I  have  written  to  all  but  you.  Per- 
haps you  do  not  deserve  a  letter,  for  you  have  not  written  to 
me.  Hut  I  will  not  stand  on  ceremony  with  my  little  Duly.  I 
think  of  you  all  daily,  hourly,  and  I  like  to  be  thought  of  by 
those  I  love  so  much.  Well,  I  reckon  you  do  think  of  me 
ctimes,  perhaps  speak  of  me  now  and  then.  How  is  this  ? 
Hope  the  sun  is  shining  on  you  at  last.     Tell  mother   to  keep 


1873-1374.]  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  589 

the  garden  growing.  I  want  to  see  everything  flourishing — 
corn,  wheat,  oats,  cotton,  water-melons,  everything.  Don't  eat 
all  the  strawberries  before  I  get  back,  I  want  some.  I  am  living 
high  every  day.  Fatten  a  little.  Room  for  more  flesh  on  my 
bones  yet.  But  I  am  willing  to  give  up  the  fat  if  I  could  go 
home.  I  had  rather  kiss  you  than  stay  here  and  eat  the  good 
things  of  Kentucky.  Georgia  fare  suits  me,  seasoned  by  the 
presence  of  those  I  love.  I  long  to  see  you  all.  Hope  Uncle 
Doc  will  be  here  to-night,  and  I  will  hear  by  word  of  mouth 
what  I  fail  to  hear  by  letter. 

"Well,  I  suppose  you  are  busy  with  school.  I  must  ex- 
cuse you.  The  Lord  bless  you  with  every  good  thing  for 
soul  and  body,  make  you  pious  and  happy.     Pray  for  me. 

"  God  bless  you." 

To  his  Wife. 

"May  16,  1874. 
"  I  have  written  to  every  one  of  the  family  now  ;  to  you 
several  times.  Trust  that  you  get  my  epistles.  They  are  not 
much,  but  they  serve  to  keep  you  posted,  and  show  that  I 
have  you  in  my  thoughts  and  heart.  The  Conference  is  full 
of  talk.  Doing  very  little.  Not  much  of  importance  on  hand. 
The  body  is  conservative.  No  radical  changes  are  proposed. 
The  bishops  have  not  arranged  their  work  yet.  Waiting  to 
see  if  the  Conference  will  elect  any  new  bishops.  This  is 
doubtful.  The  committee  report  against  electing  any  more. 
The  Conference  will  likely  take  up  the  subject  to-day.  I 
think  I  shall  go  to  California  or  Texas.  Do  not  know  how 
things  will  turn  out.  Does  not  make  much  difference  any- 
way. Absence  and  work  are  my  portion  anyhow.  We  must 
make  up  our  minds  to  bear  our  lot.  I  shall  be  disappointed 
in  my  money  matters  here,  but  hope  I  shall  be  able  to  square 
up  at  the  end  of  the  year.     Love  to  all.     Kiss  the  children." 

"  May  28,  1874. 
"  MY  DEAR  Ella  :  Yours  of  the  12th  is  at  hand.     Very 
glad  to  hear  from  you.     You  take  the  premium  from  all  but 


590  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.       tCnAP-  XIX 

mother.  She  has  written  several  times,  you  twice ;  thank 
you.  I  rejoice  in  the  report  from  the  wheat,  corn,  and  cot- 
ton. May  they  go  on  to  prosper.  Happy  to  hear  that  the 
garden  is  clean  and  fruitful.  Hope  to  be  with  you  next 
week.  Cannot  set  a  day.  Sorry  to  hear  of  little  Ella's  sick- 
ness. Tell  her  to  get  well  and  I  will  bring  her  a  present. 
So  to  Annie.  Tell  them  both  grandfather  wants  to  see  them, 
because  he  loves  them.  They  must  be  good.  I  got  a  letter 
from  Pierce  asking  for  shoes  and  money.  He  has  written  a 
very  good  letter  to  pa.  The  old  gentleman  was  pleased  very 
much.  Tell  Doolie  she  has  disappointed  me,  I  expected  a 
letter  from  her.  I  wrote  to  her.  Am  I  to  have  no  answer  ?  Stir 
her  up  quick.  Conference  is  slow — very.  Doc  is  here,  is  en- 
joying the  occasion.  He  is  staying  with  us.  Is  pleased  with 
his  quarters.  It  is  cool  up  here,  nay,  cold.  I  have  my  over- 
coat on  to-day.  I  long  for  soft,  warm  weather.  I  have  a 
bad  cold,  in  other  respects  very  well.  Tell  Wash  and  mother 
to  keep  my  crop  clean  and  growing.    Love  to  all,  and  to  you." 

The  General  Conference  at  Louisville  had  among  its  mem- 
bers Lovick  Pierce,  George  F.  Pierce,  and  Lovick  Pierce,  Jr., 
three  generations  of  the  same  family.  The  pastoral  address 
was  written  by  Pishop  Pierce,  and  was,  by  order  of  the  General 
Conference,  placed  in  the  Discipline,  as  the  expressed  senti- 
ment of  the  whole  body.  The  Conference  was  comparatively 
unimportant,  except  as  to  the  reception  of  fraternal  delegates 
from  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  the  first  who  had  come 
from  the  North.  As  he  intimated,  he  was  selected  by  the  Col- 
lege of  Bishops  for  the  Pacific  slope,  and  began  his  last  jour- 
ney to  California  and  Oregon  in  the  early  fall. 

His  first  letter  is  from  Denver  to  his  wife : 

"  Denver,  Col.,  August  27,  1874. 
"  I  wrote  you  a  brief  note  on  my  arrival  last  night.     Now 
I  give  you  a  letter  to  let  you  feel  that  you  are  in  my  heart. 
Well,  there  are  one  thousand  six  hundred  and  seventy  miles 
between  us,  but  still  we  are  one  flesh  and  one  spirit. 


1873-1874.]         nfe  anci  jimes  of  George  F.  Pierce.  591 

"  I  had  a  dry,  dusty  ride;  in  all  other  respects  pleasant. 
From  home  to  this  place  the  country  is  ruined  by  drought. 
I  never  saw  such  desolation  as  there  is  in  Kansas.  The 
grasshoppers  have  devoured  the  crops.  It  is  awful  ;  not 
much  left  here.  The  air  is  in  motion  with  them.  Noons 
hot,  nights  cold.  Thick  clothes  are  not  a  burden.  I  can  tell 
you  all  many  things  when  I  get  back. 

"  Tom  is  well.  Looks  as  sober  as  Sam  Anthony.  Is 
pleased  with  the  country.     Means  to  stay. 

"  Conference  business  starts  off  very  well.  I  shall  have  to 
hurry  up  to  get  through  in  time.  Two  or  three  thousand 
miles  ahead  of  me  yet.  Railroads  are  fine  ;  travelling  easy, 
yet  tiresome.  Am  well,  cheerful,  trying  to  do  my  duty. 
Write,  write,  write.     Heaven  bless  you  all." 

He  now  left  Denver  for  San  Francisco.  He  says  : 
"  To  describe  the  ever-shifting  scenery  of  this  long  route 
would  be  wearisome,  unprofitable.  Everything  is  unique;  the 
broad  base  of  the  mountains,  their  cloud-piercing  altitudes, 
snow-crowned  summits,  the  precipices,  canons,  the  winding 
rivers,  the  plain  stretching  away  to  the  horizon,  an  ever- 
unrolling  panorama,  picturesque,  fantastic,  beautiful,  terrible, 
sublime,  awful." 

At  Laramie  City  he  had  fine  fare  and  says:  "The 
female  crusaders  who  are  clamoring  for  suffrage  and  office  and 
rights  in  general  had  better  colonize  here.  Already  in  a 
criminal  case  a  female  jury  has  been  empanelled,  and  bravely 
did  they  stand  up  to  the  responsibilities  of  their  new  posi- 
tion." 

He  writes  again  from  Salt  Lake  to  the  Advocate  : 
"  On  our  way  down,  at  a  little  station,  the  cars  were  in- 
vaded by  a  crowd  of  young  people,  all  '  merry  as  a  marriage 
bell.'  In  the  scramble  for  seats  an  old  lady  located  by  Dr.  Mc- 
Ferrin  and  myself,  and  seemed  quite  disposed  to  make  her- 
self agreeable.  I  asked  '  what  all  these  people  were  about  ?  ' 
She  answered  that  '  they  came  in  the  morning  from  the  city 
for  a  little  jollification,  and  were  now  returning.'     '  How  have 


599  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.       tClIU>-  Xlx- 

you  spent  the  day  ?  '  '  Mostly  in  dancing.'  '  What,  do  you 
Mormons  dance  ?  '  '  Yes,  sir  ;  but  we  always  open  and  close 
with  prayer,  and  we  behave  ourselves.'  'Do  you  let  the 
Gentiles  dance  with  you?'  'Yes,  if  they  behave  well.' 
'  Are  you  Mormons  all  polygamists  ?'  '  Xo.'we  believe  in  it, 
think  it  right,  but  do  not  require  a  man  to  have  more  than 
one  wife  ;  we  can  do  as  we  please  about  that.  I  came  here 
eleven  years  ago,  from  England  ;  I  was  a  widow  then,  and  I 
am  a  widow  yet  '  So  we  chatted  on,  and  I  picked  up  many 
scraps  of  information  about  this  strange  people. 

"  On  our  arrival  we  went  to  a  hotel  and  found  it  a  first- 
class  house.  Early  in  the  morning  we  went  forth  to  see, 
and  make  our  observations.  The  town  is  regularly  laid  out, 
the  streets  are  at  right  angles  with  each  other,  and  by  the 
curb-stones  on  either  side  there  runs  a  beautiful  stream  of 
clear,  cold  water.  Along  the  sidewalks  trees  have  been 
planted  ;  on  every  open  lot  fruit-trees  abound,  and  the  trees 
and  the  water  give  to  the  whole  place  a  peculiar  charm — an 
air  of  coolness,  comfort,  and  repose.  The  public  buildings 
arc  imposing,  as  to  size  and  style,  some  beautiful  private 
residences  ;  but  the  common  habitations  of  the  people  are  of 
a  very  humble  description, 

"'The  Tabernacle'  is  a  wonderful  structure — a  model 
auditorium.  An  ellipse,  with  an  egg-shaped  roof,  doors  of 
entrance  at  each  end  and  on  either  side,  two  hundred  and 
fifty  feet  in  length,  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  in  width,  a 
wide  gallery  nearly  around  the  entire  circuit  ;  two  pulpits,  the 
first  on  a  low,  narrow  platform  ;  the  second,  two  steps  higher, 
of  more  elaborate  workmanship;  in  the  rear  of  it  an  organ, 
ih  material  and  by  Utah  artisans,  at  a  cost  of  one 
hundred  thousand  dollars;  on  the  right  and  left,  numerous 
seats  for  the  choir.  The  whole  building  will  comfortably  seat 
thirteen  thousand  people.  Dr.  McFerrin  stood  in  the  pulpit, 
and  I  went  back  to  the  last  pew,  and  we  carried  on  a  con- 
versation in  a  common  colloquial  tone,  each  hearing  dis- 
tinctly. The  breastwork  of  the  gallery  is  panelled,  and  on 
each  panel  there  is  a  motto.     These  mottoes  are  a  fair  ex- 


1873-1874.]  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  593 

ponent  of  the  Mormon  religion,  a  curious  amalgam  of  heaven 
and  earth,  of  truth  and  error,  the  divine  and  the  human. 
I  give  you  a  few  of  them  : 

"  '  Obedience  is  better  than  sacrifice.' 

"  '  Brigham,  our  leader  and  friend.' 

"  '  The  kingdom  of  God  or  nothing.' 

"  '  Honor  thy  father  and  thy  mother.' 

"  '  Utah's  best  crop — children.' 

"  'Our  crucified  Saviour.' 

"  '  Our  martyred  Prophet.' 

"  Quotations  from  the  Bible,  American  maxims,  Mormon 
ideas,  all  strangely  mingled. 

"  The  Sabbath  morning  is  devoted  to  the  Sunday-school, 
the  afternoon  to  public  service.  The  Tabernacle  is  closed  at 
night.  The  city  is  divided  into  four  wards,  and  over  each  a 
bishop  presides  ;  and  he,  with  his  subordinate  officers,  holds 
religious  meetings  on  Sunday  night,  and  sometimes  during 
the  week.  The  officers  of  these  Latter-day  Saints  are  Patri- 
archs, Prophets,  Apostles,  Evangelists,  and  Priests  ;  their 
rank,  relations,  and  functions  I  did  not  learn. 

"  We  called  on  Brigham  Young,  and  were  courteously  re- 
ceived. He  is  a  nice,  clean,  good-looking,  well-dressed  man, 
seventy-four  years  of  age.  He  looked  fresh  and  strong, 
erect  and  active.  He  lives  in  royal  style  as  to  the  forms  and 
etiquette  with  which  he  surrounds  himself.  He  has  his  hours 
and  his  porter,  and  his  reception-room,  and  is  approached 
through  many  formalities.  Once  in  his  presence,  however, 
he  is  affable,  easy  in  manner,  intelligent  in  conversation.  I 
take  him  to  be  a  man  of  moderate  mind,  pretty  well  posted 
by  reading  and  contact  with  strangers,  and  in  the  current 
facts  of  State  and  of  the  churches.  His  position  is  largely 
an  accident,  and  his  influence  the  sequence  of  the  ignorance 
and  superstition  of  his  people,  investing  him  with  a  sacred 
character.  He  has  been  shrewd  enough  to  make  a  good 
thing,  financially,  out  of  his  prophetic  office.  Fabulous 
statements  are  made  as  to  his  personal  fortune.  I  know 
nothing;  I  judge  by  what  is  visible.  All  his  buildings  are 
38 


594  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.        [Our.  xix. 

plain,  and,  all  things  considered,  humble.  When  he  located 
here  they  were  doubtless  accounted  fine  in  contrast  with  the 
rest  about  him  ;  but  the  town  has  improved,  and  superior 
structures  outshine  him.  lie  has  forty  acres  enclosed  with 
a  high  stone-wall  (concrete),  and  within  he  has  his  printing- 
office,  apartments  for  himself  and  his  employes,  and  several 
private  residences,  gardens,  orchards,  and  vineyards — a  right 
1  domain.  On  the  opposite  side  of  the  street  he  is  erect- 
ing (now  about  complete)  an  elegant  mansion  for  his  favorite 
wife.  The  story  is  that  the  house  and  the  outfit  are  to  ex- 
ceed any  private  arrangement  on  the  continent.  Such  a  re- 
treat will  be  very  pleasant  for  an  old  man,  burdened  with 
nineteen  wives  and  forty-nine  children,  especially  as  the  in- 
tended occupant  will  stand  to  him  in  closer  celestial  affinity 
than  any  honri  of  all  the  harem. 

"  The  Temple  is  on  the  same  lot  with  the  Tabernacle.  It  is 
not  finished,  and  possibly  never  will  be.  The  design  is  grand. 
It  is  to  be  built  of  the  finest  granite — two  hundred  feet  long, 
one  hundred  feet  wide — three  stories  high.  It  is  for  the  cere- 
monies, the  arcana  <>f  the  Church,  and  is  not  to  be  open  for 
the  public.  I  asked  the  gentleman  who  very  politely  showed 
us  the  buildings,  '  H"w  do  you  and  your  people  get  money 
for  such  a  magnificent  structure  as  this  ?  '  'Oh,  very  easily,' 
he  said;  'our  treasury  is  never  empty.'  'Well,  how  do 
you  manage  that?'  '  Every  Mormon,'  he  replied,  '  pays  the 
tenth  of  his  income  to  the  Church.  If  he  makes  one  hundred 
bushels  of  wheat,  the  Church  gets  ten.  Unless  Providence 
and   the  ,    and   the   earth,    all   fail,  our   treasury   will 

never  be  empty.'  I  et  G  Utile  Christians  ponder  that  state- 
ment. This  Mormon  fact  rebukes  our  Methodism.  How 
our  missions  would  multiply,  our  colleges  flourish,  our 
orphans  rejoice,  if  the  Church  could  command  the  tenth  of 
the  income  of  her  people  ! 

"  Salt  Lake  City  contains  a  population  of  about  twenty 
thousand.  In  walking  the  streets  it  is  easy  to  identify  the 
Mormons,  both  men  and  women,  especially  the  latter.  They 
all  have  a  sad,  downcast,  hopeless   look   about  them.      Their 


1873-1874.]  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  595 

gait,  dress,  and  manners  indicate  dependence,  servitude,  op- 
pression. The  heart  is  dead,  or  suffering  an  agony  which 
none  but  a  woman  can  know  or  feel,  and  all  effort  is  prompted 
by  physical  want  or  goaded  on  by  the  exacting  selfishness 
of  a  human  brute  who  claims  to  be  her  husband.  It  is  doubt- 
less some  relief  to  these  poor  women,  called  wives,  that  they 
are  not  doomed  to  live  together.  If  the  husband  is  able,  he 
furnishes  a  home  to  each,  far  apart,  if  in  town,  or  some  in 
different  portions  of  the  city,  and  some  in  the  country,  one 
on  this  ranch,  another  on  that,  and  they  never  mingle.  Many 
of  these  scoundrel  '  saints  '  multiply  their  wives  to  increase 
their  income,  accumulated  by  the  wages  of  these  women, 
hired  and  compelled  to  menial  service.  There  never  was 
such  a  social  and  religious  monstrosity  since  the  world  began. 
I  picked  up  this  item.  One  of  the  leading  men,  meeting  an 
acquaintance  of  other  days,  dilated  largely  on  the  glory  of 
Mormonism,  especially  the  domestic  features — the  household 
harmony  and  bliss — and  invited  his  friend  to  dine  with  him. 
He  went,  and  at  the  table,  in  his  simplicity,  congratulated 
the  lady  upon  the  happiness  of  her  lot.  But,  alas  for  the 
husband  !  she  dashed  the  glowing  picture  by  the  bold,  out- 
spoken declaration  :  '  If  there  be  a  hell  in  the  universe  worse 
than  this %  I  don't  want  to  go  there.' 

"  I  am  happy  to  say  that,  in  my  judgment,  '  the  Church 
of  the  Latter-day  Saints  '  is  on  its  last  legs.  It  cannot  live  in 
contact  with  Christian  civilization.  It  may,  perhaps  will, 
survive  the  death  of  Brigham,  but  not  long.  The  struggle 
for  the  succession,  combined  with  other  causes,  will  hasten  its 
downfall.  The  work  of  disintegration  has  already  begun. 
Apostasies  are  open  and  frequent.  The  system  has  the  dry- 
rot,  gradually  sapping  its  life.  Active  hostile  agencies  are 
undermining  it.  The  word  from  Brigham's  mouth  has  lost 
its  potent  spell.  On  the  train  a  lady  said  to  me  :  '  Once,  if 
Brigham  Young  said  to  a  Mormon,  Go,  he  walked,  but  now 
we  think  if  a  man  has  a  head  on  his  shoulders  he  should  do 
some  thinking  and  willing  for  himself.'  The  last  experiment 
of  ^he  old  prophet  and  leader  upon  the  credulity  and  obsequi- 


596  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.       [Ctau*.  xix 

ousness  of  his  people  culminated  while  I  was  there,  and  was 
a  failure,  a  complete  back  down.  To  keep  out  the  Gentiles 
he  instituted  what  is  called  '  The  Order  of  Enoch,'  and  called 
upon  the  faithful  to  join.  One  of  the  articles  required  every 
member  to  transfer  the  title  of  his  land  to  the  Church.  One 
object  was  to  prevent  the  sale  of  land  to  the  Gentiles,  and 
thus  stay  the  tide  which  threatens  to  overwhelm  their  institu- 
tions ;  ami  another  to  increase  the  power  of  the  Church  to 
compel  obedience  to  the  lordly  will  of  the  Prophet  But  the 
people   rebelled,    and   the   sceptre   departed   from   the    hand 

ied  by  this  first  defeat.  The  decree  was  withdrawn.  To 
have  urged  it  would  have  precipitated  the  explosion  which  is 
bound  to  conn.' 

He  left  Ogden  for  Sacramento,  and  passed  over  the  Cen- 
tral Pacific  Railroad.  The  magnificence  of  the  scenery  has 
been  so  often  described  that  I  do  not  find  it  necessary  to 
publish  his  account  of  it  here.  Dr.  McFerrin  was  with  him. 
They  were  both  sixty-four  years  old  and  might  have  been 
called  old  men,  but  they  turned  their  faces  toward  Oregon, 
and  for  sixty  hours  rocked  on  the  stage  to  the  terminus  of 
the  road.      1  I 

"  1  >r.  McFerrin  and  myself  were  waylaid  by  a  set  of 
preachers  and  laymen,  and  were  carried  off  to  a  camp-meet- 
ing before  we  could  wash  away  the  dust  of  the  desert. 

"lie  preached  at  night  and  I  the  next  morning,  and  one 
bright  conversion  inaugurated  our  service  in  that' far-off  land. 
We  accepted  it  as  a  token  for  good,  the  promise  and  pledge 
of  the  Divine  presence. 

"On  Monday  we  met  and  started  for  Oregon.  On  Tues- 
day night,  about  i  A.M.,  we  took  the  stage,  crammed  with 
mail-bags  and  passe:  For  sixty  hours  we  were  tossed 

and  tumbled  and  jolted  and  jarred  through  mountain  gorges, 
over  mountains,  down  mountains,  through  the  grandest  for- 
ests in  the  world  ;  over  rivers,  along  the  brink  of  precipices, 
on  the  edge  of  yawning  chasms,  amid  scenes  of  grandeur  and 
gloom.  Such  a  ride — such  a  ride  ;  my  old  friend  stood  it 
like  a  hero.     It  was  a  iiood   time   when    we   entered  the  cars 


1873-1874.]         nfe  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  597 

and  felt  the  soft,  gliding  motion.  We  smiled  our  gratifica- 
tion.    Neither  of  us  could  do  justice  to  the  subject. 

"  Our  road  runs  through  the  famous  Willamette  Valley. 
This  is  a  wonderful  country  ;  forests,  streams,  fruits,  soils, 
climate,  all  marvellous. 

"The  Conference  was  held  on  a  camp-ground,  twelve  miles 
from  Salem.  We  had  a  pleasant  time.  Here  the  Doctor 
and  I  planned  a  preaching  campaign,  which  took  us  to  every 
important  point.  We  began  at  Portland  ;  while  there,  an  op- 
portunity offered  for  a  trip  up  the  Columbia  River,  as  high 
as  the  Cascades.  I  never  enjoyed  a  jaunt  as  I  did  this.  The 
weather  was  beautiful,  the  boat  was  fine,  the  scenery  awe-in- 
spiring, the  river  the  grandest  on  the  continent.  When  I 
was  a  boy  I  read  Irving's  '  Astoria,'  and  it  seemed  like  a 
legend  of  so  far-off  mythical  regions,  where  nature  dwelt 
alone,  with  her  birds,  and  fish,  and  furred  animals ;  and  now, 
as  the  illusions  of  fancy  fled  away,  and  I,  a  pilgrim  from  the 
East,  stood  in  the  presence  of  this  river  and  these  mountains, 
I  was  hardly  conscious  of  my  own  identity. 

"With  the  memory  of  that  stage  ride  in  our  hearts,  and 
with  its  fear  before  our  eyes,  how  we  should  get  back  was  a 
question.  The  Doctor  was  inclined  to  the  boat  and  the 
ocean,  I  favored  the  stage.  We  advised  with  every  new- 
comer ;  if  he  came  by  steamer,  he  said,  take  the  stage,  and 
if  by  stage,  take  the  steamer.  So  we  took  the  stage,  and 
stopped  to  preach.  The  last  night  I  shall  never  forget.  It 
was  raining,  the  heavens  were  black  as  ink,  the  air  dense  with 
fog  and  darkness,  the  road  the  most  perilous  of  the  whole 
trip ;  but  on  we  go,  with  six  large  horses,  two  feeble  lamps  to 
light  our  way,  sweeping  at  a  gallop,  in  curves,  around  moun- 
tain summits,  whirling,  whizzing  on  the  very  edge  of  abys- 
mal depths.  The  Doctor  was  solemn,  I  kept  silence,  and 
we  slept.  About  two  hours  after  midnight  we  landed  at 
Redding,  the  terminus  of  the  railroad. 

"  I  was  near  Mount  Shasta,  going  and  coming,  and  the  sight 
was  and  is  an  inspiration.  From  base  to  top  it  is  14,450  feet 
high  ;  his  head  is  heavy  with  perpetual  snow,  and  the  atmos- 


598  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.        [Chap.XIX 

phere  for  thirty  miles  around  attests  his  dominion.  On  our 
return,  as  we  stopped  at  his  foot  to  change  horses,  his  head 
and  breast  were  wrapped  in  dense  clouds,  rolling  in  fearful 
convolutions,  but  as  we  started  the  clouds  were  lifted  by  a 
gust  of  wind,  the  sun  beamed  full  on  his  white  locks,  and  his 
shining  face,  all  unveiled,  was  turned  upon  us  like  a  benedic- 
tion. At  a  turn  in  the  road  the  Doctor  got  another  glorious 
glimpse,  and  was  wrapt  in  poetic  frenzy.  He  begged  me  to 
look  ;  I  declined,  telling  him  the  image  of  my  last  view  was 
photographed  in  my  mind,  and  that  I  wished  it  to  remain 
unmarred  and  unmixed  forever.  It  remains  yet  a  glory  and 
a  blessing." 

He  writes  from  Salem  : 

"Sai  i  m.  September  10,  1S74. 

"  MY  DEAR  Ann  :  I  have  just  arrived  in  safety  and  health. 
Thank  God  for  his  goodness  to  me.  Verily  it  is  a  hard  trip 
to  Oregon.  The  fact  that  I  got  your  letter  to-day,  dated 
I  relieves  me  very  much.  The  first  time  since  I 
left.  Got  pa's  letter  also.  Did  not  hear  from  you  at  Denver. 
I  have  travelled  since  I  left  you  three  thousand  seven  hun- 
dred and  sixty-two  miles,  and  must  go  a  thousand  or  two 
more  before  I  get  away  from  California.  Hope  to  make  the 
whole  trip  in  safety.  Glad  to  hear  that  all  are  well,  but  you 
nothing  about  the  crop,  the  weather,  and  so  on.  Re- 
joiced to  hear  of  Mullally's  convcr>ion.  Hope  the  good  work 
will  spread  over  the  town.  Oh,  how  I  would  like  to  be  there 
and  help  ;  but  my  duty  is  here,  so  I  must  be  content.  I 
write  short,  for  I  am  tired,  dirty,  and  must  seek  water  and 
rest.  Love  to  all.  You  are  all  very  dear  to  me;  you  live  in 
my  heart." 

"  Dixik  Camp  Ground,  September  12,  1874. 

"  AlY  DEAR  Ann:  I  have  written  to  everybody  nearly, 
but  never  feel  satisfied  until  I  have  written  to  you.  It  is 
Saturday  night,  everybody  has  gone  to  preaching,  and  I  am 
alone.  Have  just  finished  my  minutes  and  parchments.  The 
weather  is  wet  and  chilly.  I  have  taken  cold.  Preached  to- 
day ;  am  hoarse  and  stayed  indoors  to-night.     Now,  before  I 


1S73-1ST4.]  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  599 

lie  down  I  will  commune  a  little  with  my  old  bride,  the  wife 
of  my  youth,  the  companion  of  my  riper  years,  the  solace  of 
advancing  age.  Verily,  my  beloved,  I  am  a  long  way  off  from 
you  ;  many  a  weary  stretch  lies  between  us  ;  many  a  time  yet 
our  hearts  will  ache  and  yearn  before  we  shake  hands  and 
kiss  again.  But  while  I  travel  and  toil  and  feel  the  care  of 
the  Church  and  the  burden  of  the  Conferences,  I  thank  God 
you  have  a  pleasant  resting  place.  Oh,  home,  sweet,  sweet 
home,  I  trust  you  enjoy  it.  I  do  not  like  to  think  of  you  as 
sad  and  pining.  I  hope  you  are  cheerful  with  the  children, 
enjoy  the  meeting  and  visiting  around,  now  with  Doc,  then 
with  Claude,  then  with  Ann,  and  then  at  home  with  Ella  and 
Mollie  with  you  sometimes.  You  ought  to  be  happy  despite 
my  absence.  Poor  me  !  Here  alone  on  the  very  edge  of  the 
continent,  a  stranger.  Well,  I  am  glad  I  am  only  a  sojourner 
out  here.  I  keep  up  by  going  and  working.  If  I  get  through 
I  shall  be  glad  of  the  trip.  Expect  to  wind  up  the  Confer- 
ence on  Monday,  then  I  go  to  Portland  ;  will  visit  the  Colum- 
bia River.  I  wish  to  see  all  of  this  country  that  I  can,  for  I 
never  expect  to  come  again.  In  the  regular  order  I  shall  be 
too  old  for  such  work  as  this  when  my  time  comes  round 
again.  So  hope  on,  pray  on  ;  by  God's  blessing  we  shall 
meet  again,  and  I  shall  work  a  little  nearer  home  the  rest  of 
my  days.  God  bless  you,  old  lady.  Love  to  the  children,  a 
kiss  for  each  and  all.     Good  night."  - 

Three  days  later,  from 

"Portland,  September  15,  1874. 

"  My  Dear  Ann  :  I  am  as  far  from  you  as  I  can  Well  get 
on  this  continent.  Conference  adjourned  last  night ;  had  a 
good  time  ;  several  conversions.  Great  lack  of  preachers  in 
this  country.  I  ran  up  here  to-day  ;  in  the  morning  take 
boat  and  go  down  to  the  famous  Cascades  on  the  Columbia 
River,  return  and  preach  in  the  North  Methodist  church. 
On  Thursday  I  turn  my  face  toward  California.  Two  months 
more  of  absence  and  labor,  then  home.  I  hope  to  sup  with 
you  on  the  night  of  the  15th  November.  But  oh,  the  weary 
miles   and  hard  work,  the  heart-longings  between  now  and 


Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.       tCnAP  XIX- 

then.  Well,  the  Lord  is  with  me.  My  preaching  seems  to 
do  good.  The  people  are  very  kind.  But  one  letter  from 
you  yet ;  three  weeks  before  I  can  hear  now.  In  the  Lord's 
hands  I  trust  you  all." 

"Salem,  Ore.,  September  17,  1874. 

"  MY  DEAR  CLAUDE  :  I  have  just  returned  from  Portland- 
Preached  there  last  night  in  the  M.  E.  C.  Yesterday  took  a 
boat  ride  of  near  seventy  miles  up  the  Columbia  River.  The 
scenery  is  grand  beyond  my  power  to  describe.  The  river 
is  magnificent,  the  mountains  sublime  in  their  altitude,  the 
waterfalls  beautiful,  exceedingly.  I  was  enchanted.  How 
I  wished  that  you  were  with  me.  You  never  saw  anything 
but  Lockout,  I  believe.      Nature  out  here  is  unmarred.     We 

her  in  all  her  wild  luxuriance  of  forest  and  flower,  moun- 
tain, valley,  and  rivers.  This  is  a  grand  country  in  every 
view  of  it.  If  we  were  all  100//  settled  here,  it  might  be  well 
for  us,  very  certainly  better  for  the  children,  as  to  this  life, 
but  I  guess  we  are  local.  Well,  God  has  done  great  things 
for  us  where  we  are.  Our  family  condition  in  many  respects 
is  far  better  than  i-»  common.  Near  to  each  other,  no  jars, 
mutual  love,  f.iir  prospects,  all  trying  to  do  right  ;  this,  with 
all  our  straits,  is  better  than  separation,  wranglings,  hate,  and 
strife,  even  with  enlarged  finances.  Herbs  with  love  is  better 
than  a  stalled  ox  with  contention.  The  women  here  do  all 
the  housework  and  the  cooking.  I  have  not  seen  a  servant 
in  any  private  house  but  one.  They  seem  to  get  along  easily. 
Every  man  waits  on  himself.  It  is  a  free  and  easy  country 
to  live  in.  Tlircc  months'  labor  on  the  farm  supports  the 
family  and  makes  money.  There  is  much  to  admire  and  but 
tew  offsets  in  Oregon.  I  like  it  much.  I  keep  well  on  work 
and  travel. 

"Well,  how  are  you  and  the  children?  I  hope  none  of 
them  have  broken  their  necks  yet.  The  Lord  preserve  you 
all.  Tell  the  children  grandfather  loves  them  much  and  thinks 
of  them  very  often,  wishes  them  all  to  be  good  and  happy. 

"  In  the  morning  I  turn  my  face  toward  California.  I  have 
an  appointment  every  day  till  the  29th.     As  you  go,  preach, 


1873-1874.]         nfe  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  GUI 

is   the  command  I   am  trying  to  obey.      Shall  not  hear  from 
home  before  the  7th  or  8th  October.     This  is  heavy.      Shall 
look  for  your  LETTERS  at  San  F. 
"  Grace  and  peace.     Love  to  all." 

"  Corallis,  Ore.,  September  21,  1874. 
"  DEAR  El:  I  have  turned  my  face  Eastward  at  last.  I 
feel  better  on  that  account.  For  the  last  four  weeks  every 
step  has  taken  me  toward  the  setting  sun,  farther  and  farther 
from  home.  I  have  been  to  the  '  Ultima  Thule.'  Now  I  turn. 
Day  by  day  stop  to  preach,  going  slowly  toward  California. 
Long,  hard  ride  ahead  of  me.  Hope  to  get  through  safely. 
Keep  wonderfully  well.  Preached  twice  yesterday,  and 
begged  seven  hundred  dollars  to  pay  a  church  out  of  debt. 
Hard  job.  Stay  here  to-day,  to  look  after  the  Methodist 
College.  Dr.  McF.,  whom  I  left  a  day  or  two  ago,  is  to  re- 
join me  here.  He  preaches  to-night.  He  is  a  great  comfort 
to  me.  I  should  be  a  sparrow  on  the  house-top  without  him. 
I  am  greatly  pleased  with  this  country.  It  is  beautiful.  The 
weather  now  is  like  the  last  half  of  October  with  us.  The 
ways  of  the  people  are  curious.  They  live  well,  however. 
Houses  all  small.  The  people  live  in  a  heap.  The  women 
do  all  the  housework.  Very  Yankee  in  their  style  of  living. 
Cold  bread  and  pies,  but  the  beef  is  first-rate.  Coffee  good. 
Milk  rich.  If  we  were  here,  we  could  live  gloriously  as  to 
food.  But  Sunshine  will  do,  a  little  more  money  would  help. 
How  are  you  all  getting  along  ?  How  is  cotton  ?  Quantity 
and  price  ?  My  '  crop  '  will  not  break  down  the  ginhouse,  I 
hope.  Has  the  coal  come  ?  I  sit  by  the  fire  morning  and 
evening.  Have  had  to  buy  me  a  blanket  to  keep  warm 
among  the  snow-c\a.d  mountains.  Oh  for  tidings  from  you 
all !  Alas,  it  is  eighteen  days  yet  before  I  can  hear.  I  have 
written  to  everybody,  you,  Claude,  Doc,  Mollie,  Ann,  Pierce, 
Carrie,  Doolie,  mother.  To  some  of  you  twice  and  to 
mother  ten  times.  I  hope  to  get  a  pile  at  San  Francisco. 
Heaven  bless  you  all,  with  all  good  things,  temporal  and 
spiritual.     Love  to  all." 


609  Life  and  Turns  of  Georgt  /■'.  Pierce,       [Ohaf.xec 

To  his  Grandson,  George  Middlebrooks. 

"  ROSLBURG,  September  26,  1S74. 

"  My  DEAR  GEORGE  :  I  am  now  in  a  little  town  in  Ore- 
gon, surrounded  by  mountains.  In  the  hills  are  elk  with 
great  horns,  and  deer  of  two  kinds,  the  red  deer  and  the  black- 
tailed  deer.  They  are  very  pretty.  There  are  very  few  birds 
in  this  country.  They  have  squirrels  here  that  live  in  holes 
in  the  ground.  I  have  seen  a  great  many  things  that  I  must 
tell  you  about  when  I  get  back.  I  hope  you  are  a  good  boy 
— kind  and  obedient  to  your  mother,  trying  to  do  right  in 
everything.  Pray  for  me  as  I  do  for  you.  I  think  of  you 
ever  and  wonder  how  you  are  getting  along.     Do  not 

take  the  horses  by  the  tail,  nor  run  the  calves,  nor  rock  the 
pigs,  nor  break  up  the  hen  nests,  nor  make  any  noise.  Stand 
up  straight,  walk  softly,  eat  moderately,  sleep  enough,  but 
get  up  soon  and  do  right  all  day  I 

I  »d  bless  you,  make  you  good  and  hap 

"  Your  affection  :>!  A  llll.K." 

'•  ROSBBURO,  September  2f>,  1S74. 

"  My  1  n  \r.  Little  Claude  :  I  would  be  so  glad  to  sec 

1  and  kiss  you  this  morning.  If  you  were  here  how  you 
would  eat  the  pears  and  plums  and  grapes  and  apples.     You 

never  saw  so  many.  1  never  did.  Yesterday  I  got  some 
flower  seed.  The  most  beautiful  fuchsia  I  ever  saw.  I  will 
bring  them  home    and  1   one.     A   great  many   new 

flowers  up  here.  Wish  you  could  see  them.  This  is  a  fine- 
country  for  many  things.  The  nights  are  cold — I  sleep  under 
blankets  all  the  time,  while  you  get  so  hot  you  kick  off  the 
sheet. 

"  Well,  I  hope  you  are  the  same  sweet  little  girl  I  left. 
I  am  far  from  you,  but  I  think  of  you,  pray  for  you,  and  love 
you  very  much.  I  hope  you  love  me.  Do  you  love  Jesus 
yet?  I  hope  you  do,  and  always  will.  Kiss  Blanche  for  me. 
Tell   her  about  Grandfather.     Say  to  YValdron,  Pierce,  and 


1873-1874.]         nfe  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  603 

Marion  that  I  long  to  see  them,  and  hope  they  will  not  break 

their  necks  or  their  limbs. 

"Now  I  must  go  and  preach.     Kiss  mother,  and  tell  her 

to  kiss  you  for  me. 

"  Your  loving  Grandfather." 

"  Ashland,  Ore.,  September  30,  1874. 

"My  Dear  Ann:  I  am  on  my  way  to  California. 
Stopped  here  last  night  to  preach  to-day.  Go  on  to-night 
by  stage.  Hope  to  reach  the  railroad  by  Friday  morning. 
Then  my  hard  travel  is  over.  The  rest  of  my  journey  will 
be  by  steamboat  and  railroad.  I  have  preached  from  one  end 
of  Oregon  to  the  other,  a  distance  of  over  four  hundred  miles. 
I  keep  well  and  hearty — eat,  sleep,  and  work  well.  I  think 
of  you,  dream  of  you,  and  long  to  see  you.  I  feel  like  I 
have  been  away  a  whole  year. 

"This  is  Wednesday,  the  last  day  of  September.  Next 
Tuesday  I  hope  to  get  my  letters  from  home.  What  a  treat 
to  my  loving  heart !  I  trust  to  hear  good  news  from  all. 
Tell  Doc  to  give  me  all  the  Georgia  news,  local  and  politi- 
cal. 

"  Let  me  know  how  my  cotton  turns  out.  Tell  Swinson 
and  Wash  to  keep  up  with  the  opening,  and  try  to  get  it  all 
out  clean.  Do  not  mix  it.  I  want  to  save  the  seed  of  the 
lot  by  the  stable.  Tell  Wash  to  do  his  best  on  my  Alderney 
calf.  I  want  to  see  him  fat,  and  the  horses  too.  Hope  the 
coal  has  come,  and  is  all  put  away.  We  have  fire  up  here 
every  day.     Reckon  you  are  warm  yet  awhile. 

"  A  kiss  and  a  blessing  to  all,  and  upon  you  all." 

"  Chico,  October  2,  1874. 
"  My  Dear  Ann  :  I  reached  this  place  this  morning 
after  such  a  ride  as  I  never  took  before  in  all  my  life.  I  want 
you  and  all  to  help  me  praise  and  bless  the  Lord  for  his  won- 
derful goodness  to  me.  My  soul  doth  magnify  his  name.  I 
have  travelled  two  hundred  and  seventy-five  miles  through 
mountains,  over  narrow  roads,  on  the  brink  of  precipices — 


004  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.       [Ohap.  SIX. 

the  route  twisting  and  turning  right  and  left,  up  and  down, 
where  an  accident  would  have  plunged  me  a  thousand  feet 
below  into  the  river.  Last  night  was  the  worst  of  all — the 
most  dangerous  road — the  blackest  night — the  most  furious 
driving  with  six  horses  to  the  stage,  and  yet  here  I  am  safe 
and  sound  in  health.  Thank  God  for  his  care  of  me.  As  you 
ma}'  judge,  I  am  tired.  Oh  !  the  jolts  and  shocks  on  a  hard, 
narrow  seat.  ...  I  am  dirty  from  head  to  foot,  but  be- 
fore  I  wash  and  change  my  shirt,  I  sit  down  to  write  to  my 

r  wife — all  the  clearer  perhaps  because,  being  mine,  she  is 
left  alone  so  much.  Vet  she  sticks  to  me,  and  I  hope  does 
not  feel  like  giving  me  up  yet.  Well,  humanly  speaking,  all 
the  hardships  and  dangers  of  my  trip  arc  behind  me.  I  have 
a  heap  of  work  to  do,  but  while  I  keep  well  work  is  nothing. 
The  only  thing  I  dreaded  is  over  and  gone  ;  gone,  too,  with- 
out hurt  or  damage. 

"  In  a  few  days  now  I  expect  to  hear  from  you  all.  The 
Lord  send  me  good  news.  This  added  to  all  his  other  mer- 
cies will  fill  my  cup.      May  his  mercy  never  fail  us. 

range  to  say,  it  began  to  rain  yesterday  and  is  raining 
yet.  I  never  saw  a  drop  in  California  before.  It  has  taken 
the  country  by  surprise,  and  will  injure  much  wheat.  Mud 
— mud  everywhere  to-day.  I  go  in  the  morning  to  Prince- 
ton, twenty-eight  miles,  to  dedicate  a  church  on  Sunday. 
Then  to  Stockton.  Preach  here  to-night.  Xo  rest  you  see. 
Well,  that  is  my  lot  and  duty.  Pray  for  me.  Love  to  all. 
Take  as  much  as  you  want." 

"Sacramento,  Octob. 

"  MY  DEAR  ANN  :  I  reached  this  place  last  night.  Found 
an  appointment  waiting  for  me,  filled  it  and  went  to  bed, 
slept  well,  and  feel  bright  this  morning.  Shall  start  for 
Stockton  presently.  Have  ordered  my  letters  there,  and 
hope  to  hear  from  home  once  more.  I  have  no  letter  later 
than  the  8th  of  September.  Of  course  I  am  anxious  to  hear. 
I  am  doing  hard  work.  Have  been  on  this  coast  just  one 
month.  Have  travelled  thirteen  hundred  miles  — held  a  Con- 
ference, preached  twenty-four  times,  made  several  speeches, 


1873-1874.]  life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  G05 

and  am  in  good  condition.  One  more  month  of  work,  and 
I  turn  my  face  homeward.  Two  Conferences  to  hold,  much 
riding  and  preaching  to  do,  but  by  the  divine  blessing  I  shall 
get  through.  When  I  get  my  letters  I  will  write  again. 
This  note  I  send  just  to  let  you  know  how  and  where  I  am. 
Love  to  all." 

"  Stockton,  Cal.,  October  12,  1874. 

"  My  Dear  Ann  :  I  never  have  been  so  tired  and  wor- 
ried in  my  life.  A  day  or  two  ago  I  wrote  Doc  a  sharp 
complaining  letter.  Not  a  line  from  any  one  of  you  for  more 
than  a  month.  I  was  hurt,  mortified,  disturbed.  I  felt  like 
I  was  forgotten.  Strange  to  say,  last  night  I  received  four- 
teen letters  all  in  a  pile.  How  they  lodged  on  the  way  and 
all  got  together,  I  know  not.  Tell  Doc  I  take  back  all  my 
hard  sayings.  Yesterday  was  a  great  day.  I  preached  with 
liberty,  and  begged  the  church  out  of  debt — nearly  four 
thousand  dollars.  The  people  were  happy.  The  Confer- 
ence is  pleasant.  Will  adjourn  to-day.  Shall  go  to  San 
Francisco  in  the  morning.  Will  write  from  there.  Am  well, 
happy  to  say.  Feel  once  more  like  you  all  love  me.  This  is 
balmy.  One  more  month  and  I  hope  to  be  at  home  with  you 
all.     Thank  God  for  all  his  mercies.     Heaven  bless  us  still." 

"Merced,  Cal.,  October  16,  1874. 
'■*  My  Dear  Claude  :  This  is  my  third  letter  to  you.  I 
have  received  but  one  from  you.  Well — I  excuse  you.  I 
know  your  cares  and  troubles.  They  are  many  in  the  very 
nature  of  things.  Do  not  magnify  them  by  brooding.  To 
worry  by  anticipation  or  pine  when  they  come,  only  makes 
matters  worse.  Firstly,  we  overrate  them  ;  secondly,  we 
disqualify  ourselves  to  deal  with  them  and  often  entangle  and 
increase  them.  A  calm  acceptance  of  the  ills  of  life,  a  wise 
and  deliberate  handling  of  them,  take  off  half  the  burden  of 
them.  Christ  meant  a  great  deal  by  the  following  sayings, 
'  In  patience  possess  your  souls,'  '  Sufficient  unto  the  day  is 
the  evil  thereof.'  Every  day  has  its  own  trials.  Wait  for  it, 
not  by  forecasting  and  dreading  it,  but  by  occupying  your- 


COG  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.       \Paxt-  XIX- 

self  with  the  present  and  not  taking  thought  for  the  morrow. 
Do  not  borrow  from  the  future  nor  add  up  the  past.  Live  by 
faith.  Cherish  hope  ;  look  to  God  ;  trust.  Providence  is 
very  kind.      We  are  of  more  value  than  many  sparrows. 

"  Well,  time  is  rushing  on.  In  sixteen  days  I  expect  to 
start  home.  Oh,  how  I  long  to  see  you  all  !  I  hope  George 
and  Claude  got  my  letter. 

"  I  am  on  my  way  to  Los  Angeles  ;  stopped  here  to 
preach  to-night.  Go  on,  after  preaching,  to  Visalia  ;  preach 
there  on  Sunday.  I  am  working  day  and  night.  Keep  up 
finely.     No  sickness  at  all.     God  has  been  very  good  to  me." 

"  Carpentaria,  Cal.,  October  29,  1874. 

"My  Dear  Ann  :  Yours  of  12th  and  Ella's  of  13th  both 

received  this  evening.  Many,  man)-  thanks  to  both.  Bless 
your  old  soul,  how  I  wish  to  sec  you  !  Well,  in  three  days 
more   I    start   for  home.      I    am  restless,   eager;    <-\l\\   hardly 

tain  myself.    The  thought  is  blissful.     But  this  is  an  out- 

lie-way  place,  and  unless  a  steamer  comes  along  Monday 
morning  I  may  be  one  day  longer  getting  back.  I  shall 
take  the  water-route  if  I  can  save  a  day.  I  am  here,  right 
on  the  ocean  shore,  lulled  to  sleep  every  night  by  the  roar  of 
the  surf  of  the  great  Pacific. 

"  Tell  Ira  I  got  his  letter,  and  sent  him   a  postal  card  to- 
I  was  out  of  envelopes  and  paper  too. 

"  Sorry  the  cotton  does  not  turn  out  better.  As  you  say, 
I  shall  need  it.  Hut  I  shall  get  along  without  some  serious 
misfortune.  Tell  Wash  I  am  glad  to  hear  he  is  doing  well. 
Tell  him  to  hold  on,  take  care  of  my  Alderncys,  both  of  them. 
Tell  Ella  to  buy  a  lot  of  turkeys  from  German  or  somebody. 
I  am  surfeited  with  chickens. 

•  I  hall  have  a  heap  to  tell  you  all,  though  the  trip  has 
been  strangely  barren  of  incident.  I  cannot  bring  much  in 
the  way  of  presents  to  the  children  or  grandchildren.  They 
are  too  many  for  my  purse.  Hugs  and  kisses  to  them  all,  and 
tell  them  to  make  your  old  bones  crack  for  me. 

"  Grace  and  peace." 


1873-1874]         Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  607 

"  Carpentaria,  October  25,  1874, 
"  MY  DEAR  Ella  :  This  is  the  last  letter  I  shall  write  on 
this  trip.     Wrote  to  mother  last  night. 

"  This  is  a  feeble  Conference,  very  small  in  numbers  and 
yet  is  giving  me  more  trouble  than  all  the  rest.  My  patience 
is  tried.  I  hope  to  wind  up  to-morrow.  Preach  Sunday  and 
start  for  Sunshine  on  Monday.  Oh,  the  happy  day  !  But 
the  miles  are  long  and  weary.  I  may  get  back  by  the  14th 
perhaps.  If  not,  do  not  be  uneasy.  I  will  come  as  fast  and 
as  soon  as  I  can,  D.  V.  Be  sure  to  buy  a  good  lot  of  turkeys. 
I  will  pay  for  them.  I  want  to  have  the  tribe  all  at  a  feast  at 
old  Sunshine  soon  after  my  return. 

"  Pierce  has  sent  me  two  letters,  Carrie  one,  Doolie  one. 
They  ought  to  have  done  better.  Glad  Doolie  has  gone  to 
Macon.  The  judge  ought  not  to  despond.  Things  will  jog 
on,  even  if  crops  fall  short.  Hope  on — hope  ever.  If  there 
was  no  sun  in  the  sky,  there  would  be  no  shadows,  but  the 
shadows  never  extinguish  the  sun.  He  will  shine  on.  Tell 
him  to  trust  and  not  be  afraid.  We  all  have  too  much  to  be 
thankful  for  to  pine  about  anything.  God  bless  us  and  keep 
us  evermore.     Love  without  measure  to  you  all." 

"Nashville,  Tenn.,  May  5, 
"  My  Dear  Ethel  :  I  received  your  little  letter  and  was 
glad  to  hear  from  you.  I  think  of  you  very  often  and  love 
you  more  than  you  will  ever  know.  I  have  a  beautiful  dress 
for  you.  Hope  you  will  like  it.  It  is  very  pretty.  I  have 
the  lining  and  the  buttons  and  the  thread — everything. 

"  Wish  I  had  been  at  home  to  eat  your  perch.  You  must 
catch  another  for  me.  Tell  grandmother  to  send  for  me  next 
Tuesday  evening.  I  stay  over  here  to  dedicate  a  church  to- 
morrow. I  am  very  well,  and  hope  to  kiss  yon  soon.  Love 
to  all." 

He  presided  over  the  session  of  the  Florida  Conference, 
and  then  at  the  North  Georgia,  in  Gainesville.  He  preached 
with  great  unction  on  the  baptism  of  the  Holy  Ghost.     John 


608  Life  and  Tunes  of  George  F.  Pierce.       [Chap,  xix. 

Knight  and  John  P.  Duncan  were  there  ;  as  yet  Caleb  Key 
was  still  able  to  work,  and  Jimmy  Evans,  as  he  called  him, 
was  in  his  vigor.  He  was  in  happy  frame;  he  preached  with 
power.  The  preachers  rejoiced,  the  congregation  joined  with 
them.  He  left  the  pulpit,  came  down,  shook  hands,  praised 
the  Lord,  and  when  some  one  said.  "  The  ordination  is  to 
come,"  M  Never  mind,"  he  said,  "  that  will  come  all  right." 


CHAPTER  XX. 

EPISCOPAL  JOURNEYINGS,  1875-1878,  AGED  64-67. 

District  Conference   in  the  Wire  Grass — Indian  Mission  Conference — 
Texas — Upper  Georgia — Views  on  Common  School  Education. 

THE  life  of  Bishop  Pierce  was  full  of  incident,  because  he 
was  always  in  motion,  and  he  kept  his  eyes  open  and  saw  a 
great  deal,  and  as  a  general  thing  he  wrote  about  what  he 
saw.  During  the  first  part  of  the  year  1875  he  travelled 
mainly  over  the  State  of  Georgia,  visiting  District  Confer- 
ences, and  still  pressing  the  work  of  improvement  at  Emory 
College.  Dr.  Haygood  had  now  returned  to  Georgia,  and 
was  in  charge  of  the  college,  and  its  fortunes  were  growing 
brighter.  The  bishop  was  still  living  at  Sunshine,  and  his 
grandchildren  were  growing  old  enough  to  write  to  him, 
and  to  be  his  companions  when  at  home.  The  cars  passed 
by  his  door,  and  the  conductors  had  orders  to  allow  him  to 
get  on  and  off  at  Sunshine,  although  it  was  no  station.  He 
would  not  rest,  and  the  people  would  not  let  him  rest.  They 
loved  him  well,  but  they  had  no  dream  that  the  strong  man 
was  breaking  down,  and  that  that  magnificent  throat  was  at 
last  yielding  to  the  immense  labors  of  now  over  forty  years 
of  constant  preaching.  His  colleagues  in  the  Episcopal  Col- 
lege would  have  spared  him,  but  yielding  to  his  own  wishes 
they  permitted  him  to  take  the  work  he  chose,  and  he  pre- 
ferred the  West.  His  brethren  in  Georgia  called  for  his  ser- 
vices at  the  District  Conferences,  and  when  he  was  at  them  he 
preached  every  day.  His  children  were  all  about  him,  and 
no  man  was  ever  more  loved  or  honored  by  his  family  than 
he  was.  His  grandchildren  clung  to  him  with  the  most 
tender  attachment,  and  grandfather  was  never  great  to  them, 
39 


G10  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  '         xx 

but  only  living  cheerful  and  thoughtful,  lie  luxuriated  in 
the  simple  love  of  his  home,  but  he  never  allowed  it  to  hold 
him  from  his  work.  lie  has  not  left  a  full  itinerary  of  the 
first  of  this  year,  1875,  and  the  files  of  the  Advocate,  which  I 
have  drawn  on  so  largely,  are  broken  just  here.  In  the  early 
spring,  however,  he  made  a  visit  to  that  part  of  Georgia 
known  as  the  wire  grass,  and  again  he  tells  the  story  for 
himself : 

"  My   last  trip   was  to  the    Altamaha    District.       I    went 
n  the  Centra]  Railroad,  intending  to  stop  at  No.  5,  where 
the   brethren  were  to   meet  me.      I    recpiested  the   conductor 
■tify  me  when  we  reached   the  place,  and  so  I  gave  my- 
self to   readin    .     On   went    the  train,   when   the    conductor 

ie  to  me  in  haste  and  confusion,  and  announced  that  he 
had  carried  me  fifteen  miles  beyond  my  station,  lie  ex- 
pressed great  sorrow  for  his  forgetfulness,  and  doubtless  felt 
it,  but  my  dilemma  was  unrelieved.  Now  I  must  go  five 
miles  farther  to  find  a  stopping-place,  and  wait  for  the  ni 
train  irn.    So  I       |    Bfat  Whitesville,  took  supper  with 

ther  Davant,  and  at  half  past  eleven  landed  at  No.  5,  in- 
darkne-s  ami  doubt  as  to  all  my  movements.  I  went  up  to  a 
house,  the  only  one  I  <  icked  for  admission. 

an    "Id   gentleman   at   last,  he    informed   me   that  hi1 

had  company  ami  could  not  take  me  in.     II  1  me  to 

go  down  to  the  store,  and  try  for  lodgings  there.  I  went, 
and  failed  -the   sleeper  d  .1  the  fuss  I   could   make.     I 

returned  to  the  house  and  told  my  discomfiture,  and  was  ad- 
mitted to  share  a  bed  with  the  proprietor.  Rising  early  I 
went  out  to  find  the  means  of  getting  away.  Very  soon  I 
found  my  only  chance  was  to  hire  from  a  negro  who  owned  a 
horse  and  buggy.  He  lived  a  good  way  off.  I  despatched  a 
-cnger  to  him.  After  long  delay  he  came  on  foot,  pre- 
pared, however,  to  drive  abargain — good  for  him,  but  dear  to 
me.  We  contracted,  and  away  he  went  to  make  ready.  I 
waited  and  waited  till  patience  was  exhausted.  At  last  a  negro 
boy  rode  up  on  horseback,  and  said,  '  Daddy  says  the  bu 
is  broke,  and  he  can't  go.'     '  What  am  I  to  do,  then?' 


ls75-l  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  611 

says  you  can  ride  the  horse,  and  I  will  go  with  you  and  bring 
him  back,'  was  the  answer.  Mine  host  (Mr.  Moses)  said  to  me, 
'  Bishop,  I  would  not  go.'  Said  I,  '  My  promise  to  attend  the 
meeting  has  been  given,  and  when  I  have  done  my  best  to 
reach  the  place,  even  if  I  fail,  I  shall  feel  better.'  Mr.  Moses, 
who  treated  me  very  kindly,  and  who  sympathized  with  me  in 
my  troubles,  admitted  the  force  of  my  reason.  My  plan  was 
to  get  into  the  neighborhood  of  the  brethren  who  came  for 
me  the  evening  before,  and  if  they  could  send  me  on,  to  go 
forward — if  not,  to  return.  My  new  acquaintance  kindly  of- 
fered to  entertain  me,  if  I  should  be  driven  back. 

"  So  now,  behold  the  Episcopacy  on  horseback  once 
more.  This  was  Asbury's  style,  but  I  improved  on  him. 
He  never  rode  with  a  negro  boy  behind  him.  I  did,  and 
thus  added  one  more  variety  to  my  many  modes  of  convey- 
ance. I  rode  five  or  six  miles  in  this  way,  and  came  to  a 
house  and  made  inquiry  as  to  my  route,  when,  to  my  great 
delight,  I  was  informed  that  Brother  Ware,  the  preacher  on 
Bulloch  Circuit,  was  right  there,  waiting  for  me.  All  right 
once  more. 

"  A  stranger  in  these  wire-grass  counties  is  greatly 
troubled  by  the  roads.  They  are  all  alike,  and  very  numer- 
ous. Three  paths — one  for  the  horse  and  two  for  the  wheels — 
more  or  less  dim  according  to  age  and  use,  is  a  description  of 
them  all.  Unfortunately,  Brother  Ware  did  not  know  the 
way,  and  we  could  not  travel  with  certainty  either  by  faith 
or  sight.  After  many  blunders  and  much  loss  of  time  we 
drew  up  to  a  neat  little  house  on  the  wayside,  about  nightfall, 
and  were  kindly  received  by  Mrs.  Caruthers. 

"  We  left  early  next  morning,  having  sixteen  miles  to 
go  by  9  A.M.  After  travelling  near  two  hours,  we  met  a  lone 
man,  driving  an  ox,  and  asked,  '  How  far  to  Reidsville  ?  ' 
1  Sixteen  miles — but  you  will  never  get  there  by  this  road.' 
'  Surely  you  are  mistaken,'  said  we.  Said  he,  '  When  a  man 
is  travelling  he  does  well  sometimes  to  take  a  fool's  advice.  I 
tell  you  this  is  not  the  way  to  Reidsville.'  '  Well,  tell  us  how 
to  go.'     '  I  know  you  are  wrong,  but  I  cannot  set  you  right. 


G12  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.        tCuAI  •  xx 

Go  on  to  the  next  house.'  On  we  went,  to  every  point  of  the 
compass,  back  and  forth,  and  across,  and  after  much  worry 
and  weariness  we  reached  Reidsville  a  little  alter  I  I  A.M. 

"  Monday  we  set  out  for  Swaynesboro',  and  after  a  long, 
hard,  hot,  lonely  ride,  arrived  about  noon.  For  reasons, 
here  we  divided,  to  meet  again  at  church  on  the  morrow. 
1; one  was  on  horseback,  and  Page,  with  whom  1  had  jour* 
neyed  thus  far,  was  in  a  buggy.  These  brethren  confeder- 
ated to  go  on  and  dine  in  the  country.  Then  they  were  to 
change  horses  and  thus  relieve  each  other.  Late  in  the  even- 
ing Williams  and  I  became  fellow-travellers,  and  went  on  our 
way  a  few  miles  to  Mr,  Neil  McCleod's.  We  had  gone 
about    five   miles   when  we   met    Rorie  afoot,  and   leading   his 

'What   is   the  matter?'      'When    we  changed   hoi 
I  forgot  my  saddle  ;  I  am  going  back  for  it.     Withal,  my 
horse  ran  away  with  the  buggy,  kicked  out,  and  broke  things 

ieces.1  '  Where  is  Page  ?'  '  He  is  trying  to  repair  dam- 
we  may  go  on  when  I  get  back.'  The  brethren 
spliced  and  tied  up,  and  went  their  way,  But  Rorie's  horse 
must  be  discontinued  at  next  Conference.  He  does  not  suit 
the  itinerancy.  We  want  men  and  horses  for  all  kinds  of 
work.  Those  who  kick  ///>  at  a  change  will  not  answer  for 
our  economy! 

"  In  the  morning  I  rose  with  a  dry  and  bitter  mouth; 
rode  through  the  hot  sun  near  thirty  miles,  and  on  reaching 
the   church    was  wellnigh  spent  with    heat.      The  house 

e  and  crowded  with  people  ;  no  ventilation  above,  and 
after  preaching  an  hour  I  became  deathly  sick,  and  was 
obliged  to  sit  down  with  my  sermon  unfinished.  1  had 
talked  long  enough,  it  is  true,  but  the  application  was  essen- 
tial to  the  completeness  of  the  discourse.  Some  of  these 
days  I  must  try  that  place  again — by  permission. 

"  My  time  was  out,  and  brother  Gay  kindly  brought  me 
to  the  railroad.  I  must  needs  hurry  to  meet  the  Trustees  at 
Oxford,  so  giving  home  the  go-by,  I  slacked  not,  but  went 
forward. 

"  I  have  one   more  appointment  to  (ill,  and  then  I   give 


1875.]  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  *  613 

notice  that  I  shall  lie  by  till  I  start  for  Texas.  Six  months' 
unremitting  labor  will  justify  ten  days'  rest,  before  the  fall 
tour  of  Conferences." 

Of  his  further  movements  his  next  letter  tells. 

He  now  went  to  Texas,  and  writes  : 

"  On  the  27th  of  September  I  left  home  for  Texas.  Three 
months  of  absence  and  labor  and  exposure  to  all  the  vicis- 
situdes of  weather  and  travel  do  not  make  the  prospect  very 
inviting.  How  easy  and  how  foolish  for  a  man  to  ponder  in 
apprehension  the  possibilities  of  such  atrip,  until  he  shudders 
at  the  undertaking,  beclouds  his  mind,  burdens  his  heart, 
distresses  his  family,  and  leaves  in  despondency  and  gloom — 
shadows  ahead  and  shadows  behind.  Most  men  yield  to  the 
temptation  in  such  circumstances — sigh,  look  sad,  bewail 
their  trial,  and  go  off  with  a  feeling  of  martyrdom,  leaving 
their  friends  in  sympathetic  sorrow.  I  have  schooled  myself 
and  family  to  a  different  style.  We  do  not  brood  over  and 
magnify  what  must  be,  until  the  duty  of  the  hour  seems  like 
a  punitive  infliction — a  positive  calamity — but  think  of  other 
things,  talk  cheerfully,  part  with  smiles  and  hopes,  expecting 
all  to  go  well  till  we  meet  again.  This  plan  seems  to  me  to 
be  sound  philosophy  and  good  religion.  Some  men  have  a 
hard  time  of  it,  and  are  always  levying  upon  the  sympathy 
of  their  friends,  not  because  they  fare  providentially  worse 
than  others,  but  from  their  habits  of  self-torture.  They  mag- 
nify what  is  past  and  what  may  come,  and  squeeze  out  of  the 
present  every  drop  of  discomfort  it  contains,  and  never  seem 
to  be  happy  except  when  they  are  miserable.  If  I  were  to 
consult  my  natural  tastes  and  feelings,  I  should  never  leave 
home  for  twenty-four  hours  again  ;  but  then  my  ministerial 
duties  constrain  me  to  long  and  frequent  absences.  The 
thing  cannot  be  altered  without  infidelity  to  the  Great  Mas- 
ter, and  a  bad  example  to  the  Church.  This  thought  cannot 
be  tolerated.  Conscience  rules  it  out.  Duty  must  be  done. 
Is  duty  a  hardship  to  whine  about  ?  Has  the  yoke  no  pad- 
ding to  make  it  easy  ?  Shall  a  man  make  his  right  hand  of- 
fend and  then  complain  because  he  has  to  cut  it  off?     Nay, 


•  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pkrcc.        {Cnw.  xx 

verily.  Let  a  man  stand  in  his  lot  and  make  the  best  of  it. 
To  put  the  hand  to  the  plough  and  look  back  is  a  fearful  risk. 
To  fret  in  the  harness  and  chafe  one's  self,  and  then  com- 
plain, i>  weak,  foolish,  wicked.  To  go  to  the  Master's  work 
reluctant,  moody,  like  a  slave  scour-ed  to  his  task,  makes  re- 
ligion a  cross  and  life  a  burden.  Cheerful  obedience,  a 
prompt,  read)-,  buoyant  spirit,  is  the  way  of  pleasantness  and 
the  path  of  peace.     So  I  have  found  it.      So  may  I  continue. 

"  1  laid  Over  a  day  at  Oxford,  to  look  after  some  College 
inter 

••  1  ']]•■  ch  inge  of  schedule,  which  puts  ns  through  in  the 
night  gave  me  a  day  at  Nashville.  I  spent  the  time  pleas- 
antly at  Dr.  McFerrin's,  the  Publishing  House,  and  byavisit 

the    '  Yanderbilt.'      My   D  .    Wightman   and    1  )og- 

gett,  were  on  hand,  doubtless  ready  f<>r  their  respective  parts 

in  the  inaugural  ceremonies.      <  hi   Wednesday  much  work 

remained  to   be  it   numerous   hands   were   busy   here 

and  there,  and  by  M  the  4th  instant,   I  every- 

thing u  .  intially  ready.     May  the  institution  prot 

blessing.  It  has  ample  territory  for  full  numbers  and  wide 
influence,  and  n  i  trench  upon  other 

the  Church.    There  i^  room  for  all— work  for  all. 
:/y  then  harm,  which  '  takes  ' 

the  public  mind,  to  the  damage  of  schools  of  humbler  title.  I 
have  no  hesitation  in  believing  that  the  old  college  curriculum 

is  the  better  education  in  the  way  of  mental  training  ami  dis- 
cipline to  Southern  population  and  society. 
Texl  .mil  hard,  patient  drill  for  the  young  and  imma- 
ture ;  lecture^  for  trained  graduates.  '  Yanderbilt  '  proposes, 
I  belicv  mbine  the  two.  This  is  an  experiment  tried 
before,  but  never  satisfactorily.  I  hope  for  the  best.  The 
outset  prom  be  propitious,  beautiful  grounds — ample 
buildings— an  able  Faculty— all  the  appliances  of  a  first-class 
institution— the  future  is  bright  with  hope." 

He  reached  the  Indian  Nation  and  says  : 

"  The  effect  of  these  schools  on  society  it  is  impossible 


isffS-]  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  615 

to  estimate  at  present.  The  elevation  of  a  whole  people  from 
the  status  of  wild  Indian  life  to  the  ideas  and  habits  of  Chris- 
tian civilization  is  necessarily  slow.  A  visible  change  is  going 
on.  The  Church  has  not  labored  in  vain.  She  has  not  spent 
her  money  for  nought  The  seed  is  in  the  ground.  The 
Sun  of  Righteousness  is  shining.  The  dews  of  Zion  are  falling. 
The  harvest  will  come. 

"I  have  just  heard  of  the  death  of  Chili  Mcintosh. 
Many  Georgians  will  remember  him — the  tragic  death  of 
his  father  on  the  banks  of  the  Chattahoochee,  and  his  own 
marvellous  escape  from  a  violent  end.  He  has  lived  to  be 
old — has  been  a  prominent  leader  among  his  people,  but  his 
race  is  run.  He  has  been  for  years  a  Baptist  preacher,  and 
died  in  the  fellowship  of  his  Church,  and  has  gone,  we  trust, 
to  the  heaven  of  the  redeemed. 

"To-night  we  leave  for  Atoka  (Choctaw  Nation),  the 
place  for  the  meeting  of  the  Indian  Mission  Conference." 

He  writes  his  wife. 

"  Asbury  Manual  Labor  School, 
October,  2,   1875. 

"I  hope  you  got  my  notes  from  Oxford  and  Nashville. 
Well,  here  I  am  in  the  Creek  Nation.  I  have  travelled  one 
thousand  three  hundred  miles,  made  good  time,  had  no  ac- 
cident, kept  in  health  and  peace.  Praise  the  Lord,  oh  my 
soul  !     Let  us  thank  him  together. 

"  George  is  a  good  traveller  as  to  eating  and  sleeping. 
But  he  is  the  most  absent-minded  mortal  I  ever  dealt  with.  I 
have  to  stir  him  up  at  every  turn.  He  would  leave  every- 
thing and  lose  himself  if  I  did  not  keep  an  eye  on  him. 

"  My  heart  turns  homeward  to-day  with  intense  affec- 
tionate longing.  Six  days  have  fled  already.  So  they  go. 
I  remain  here  till  Tuesday,  then  to  Atoka.  There  I  hear 
from  you.  I  want  several  letters  when  I  get  to  San  Anto- 
nio on  the  20th.  ........ 

"  It  is  a  great  relief  to  me  that  you  are  with  the  children. 
If  you  were  not  comfortable  I  should  be  unhappy.  I  can 
stand  my  lot  if  I  think  you  are  in  pleasant   circumstances. 


616  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.         [Cuaf.  xx 

You  will  not  miss  me  so  much    while   you   are    with    '  our 
dear  son  '  and  loving  daughters. 
"  Love  to  all." 

•'  ASBURY   Mam  ai.   LABOR   S(  H 
October  5,    1 

"MY  Old  DARLING:    I  have  written   to  several  of  the 

family  but  never  feci  like  I  had  done  my  duty  till  I  write  to 
you.  This  is  my  third  letter  to  you.  Hope  you  got  them  all. 
They  are  short,  but  they  show  that  you  are  in  my  thoughts, 
that  is  some  consolation.  I  have  written  a  long  letter  to  the 
Advocatt.  Am  tired.  Leave  in  a  little  while  now  for  Atoka. 
From  that  point  will  write  again.  Hope  to  hear  from  you 
this  week.      A  letter  ought  to  come  through  in  four  days. 

"  George  is  well  and  wild,      lie   came   in  just    now    from 
ball-play  with  his  suspenders  broken,  his  shirt  dirty,  his  » 
tnd  his  face  red  and  dripping  with  sweat. 

"  Love  I  1  all.      Give  me  all  the   home   news.      One    week 
gone.      Well,  December  will  come.      Let  us  wait  and  hope." 

Then  to  Kthcl. 

"Fort  Gibson,  Akk..,  October  s,  1 

•'  Your  letter  came  to  hand  this  morning.      I   thank  you 
for  your  letter,  your  lov  ur  prayers.     God  bless  you, 

in}-  darling.  Grandfather  loves  you  more  than  he  can  ever 
tell.  I  wish  you  could  come  in  your  letters,  kiss  me  and 
hug  me,  and  then  go  back  to  tell  them  at  home  all  about  me. 

"  I  am  a  thousand  miles  away  from  you.      1  am  among  the 
Indian-     Cherokee  .  .  and  Choctaws.     They  have  very 

funny  names  :  Bushy-head,  M uskrat, Tickeater,  Rattle-in-the 
gourd,  and  so  on.  You  would  laugh  to  hear  them  talk. 
Grandfather  has  to  get  some  one  who  can  talk  English  to 
explain  what  they  say.  But  they  are  good  people.  They 
love  Jesus,  belong  to  the  Church,  and  are  trying  to  do  good. 
Grandfather  has  come  over  all  these  weary  miles  to  teil  them 
about  Christ  and  the  way  to  heaven.  Ybu  must  pray  for  all 
of  us.  Give  money  to  the  missions,  and  help  send  the  Gospel 
to  all  the  heathen.      Hope  your  eyes  arc  now  well.      I   want 


1875 •]  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  G17 

to  see  them  shine  when  I  get  back.  Kiss  mother  and  May 
and  Warren  for  me. 

"  Don't  eat  too  much  sugar-cane,  you  are  sweet  enough. 
Be  good.  Keep  your  temper  sweet  and  gentle  ;  be  kind  to 
all  your  brothers  and  sisters  ;  pity  and  help  the  poor  and 
needy  ;  love  the  Lord,  try  to  please  him  ;  pray  often  for 
grandfather.      Ask  the  Lord  to  make  his  throat  well  again. 

"  Write  often.  Love  to  all.  The  Lord  bless  you  always. 
"  Your  loving  Grandfather." 

He  wrote  to  Ella  from 

"Atoka,  Choctaw  Nation,  October  6,  1875. 

"  We  reached  this  place  last  night  about  twelve,  all  safe 
and  well.  Conference  opened  this  morning  at  nine.  Very 
few  present.  Sickness  prevails  all  over  the  West.  Chills, 
fevers,  flux  abound.     Hope  I  may  escape. 

"  Am  very  pleasantly  situated — good  room,  bed,  and  fare. 
My  hostess  has  a  few  drops  of  Indian  blood.  Her  husband 
is  absent.  Will  be  home  in  a  day  or  two.  George  and  I  are 
alone.  He  is  getting  on  very  well.  Is  not  homesick.  Im- 
patient for  Texas.  We  are  fourteen  hundred  miles  from 
home  and  have  further  to  go.  I  have  more  staging  than  I 
bargained  for.  Expenses  are  pretty  heavy,  and  money  not 
very  flush.     But  we  get  on  and  expect  to  go  through. 

"  Oh  !  how  I  wish  to  hear  from  you  all.  Surely  a  letter 
will  come  this  week.  If  you  had  written,  as  I  told  you,  last 
Thursday  or  Friday,  I  should  have  gotten  it  by  this  time.  I 
will  wait  and  hope  till  Sunday.  Stir  them  all  up.  Heaven 
bless  you,  everyone.      Remember  me." 

He  wrote  to  the  Advocate  : 

"The  Indian  Mission  Conference,  in  every  aspect  of  it — 
its  history,  its  results,  its  present  status — ought  to  interest 
the  whole  Church.  There  must  be  a  larger  outlay  of  money, 
and  the  introduction  of  more  white  missionaries,  to  meet  the 
growing  demands  of  this  interesting  field.  The  Missouri, 
Kansas  and  Texas  Railroad,  which  runs  across  the  entire 
territory,  is  working,  and  will  work  great  changes — social, 


Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.         [Char  XX. 

commercial,  and  religious.  New  towns  are  springing  up, 
trade  is  enlarging,  agriculture  is  stimulated,  and  as  the  white 
ment  comes  in,  all  the  more  need  for  the  Church  and  the 
Gospel.  Now  is  the  opportunity,  and  at  least  >ix  more  white 
preachers  arc  needed  to  man  the  work  efficiently.  I  should 
like  to  commune  in  person  or  by  letter  with  the  brethren 
who  are  willing  to  go.  The  country  is  rich  and  beautiful,  in 
many  places  society  intelligent  and  agreeable,  and  the  work 
not  more  cumbered  with  hardships  than  the  common  circuit 
r  Conferences. 

"  I  entered  Texas  at  'Red  River  City,'  a  place  without 
inhabitant — the   shallow   of  a   name.      Deni- 

,  near  b  its    people,  its   business   and   its 

prospects.  The  latter  is  a  flourishing  place,  with  all  the  char- 
acteristics of  a  new  town  in  a  new  country.  I  was  detained 
here  waiting   for  a  train    to    Sherman,  and   be- 

guiled the  weary  spell  by  strolling  about  and  making  obser- 
vations. The  town  was  a-tir  with  business  and  frolic,  but  I 
was  lone'}-  and  longed  to  depart.  I  met  my  appointment  at 
Sherman,  and  spent  a  day  and  night  with  my  old  friend,  Rev. 
Acton  Young.  The  regular  trains  arrive  and  leave  this  point 
isonable  hour-.  Never  having  visited  this  por- 
tion I  anxious  to  see  it  by  day,  but  the 
trains  run  at  night,  both  ways,  so  that,  although  I  doubled 
on  my  track  like  a  hunted  rabbit,  I  was  indebted  to  the  moon 
and  the  all  the  light  I  had.  Leaving  after  midnight, 
I  went  (  .  and  awoke  just  in  time  to  get  a  side  glimpse 
of  1  I  •  wn  of  \.  \\\  Texas.  I  reached  Austin 
and  took  up  my  1  >dging  with  my  old  Georgia  brother,  Tom 
Murrah.  Next  morning  went  out  with  the  Austin  preacher, 
II.  V.  Philpot,  and  Rev.  II.  S.  Thrall,  to  a  camp-meeting, 
five  mi'.  at  Preached  at  eleven,  and  dined  with  my 
fellow-traveller  of  other  days,  the  Rev.  J.  W.  Whipple,  who 
was  host  and  ro  in  general.  I  enjoyed  the  day,  but 
was  constrained  to  return  to  Austin,  to  be  ready  for  the  hack 
going  to  San  Marc  »s.  At  this  place  I  was  engaged  for  a  two- 
days'   meeting.       Brother  Joyce,    the   Presiding    Elder,    and 


1875.]  Hje  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  619 

Brother  Fisher,  the  stationed  preacher,  were  on  hand,  and 
during  the  day  several  preachers  and  lay  delegates  came 
in,  on  their  way  to  Conference.  Here,  too,  I  found  many 
old  Georgia  acquaintances.  It  was  refreshing  to  meet  them. 
How  their  full  hearts  overflowed  with  memories  of  men  and 
places  and  events,  and  how  they  bubbled  up  in  questions 
and  narratives  of  the  past  !  '  The  light  of  other  days  '  still 
lingers  like  a  spell  upon  these  wanderers  to  the  West.  '  The 
former  days  were  better  than  these,'  is  the  interpretation  of 
many  a  sigh,  as  thought  roams  backward,  and  the  heart 
yearns  for  the  sights  and  sounds,  the  scenes  and  associations, 
of  the  olden  time.  Well — '  moviiig?  in  the  long  run,  is  a 
doubtful  experiment.  To  abide  where  we  were  born,  as  a 
rule,  is  perhaps  the  safest  and  the  happiest. 

"  To  encourage  my  brethren  to  preach  at  odd  times  and  in 
out-of-the-way  places,  I  will  relate  an  interesting  incident  : 
As  I  went  to  the  Conference  room  the  next  morning,  I  met 
a  man  on  the  sidewalk,  who  addressed  me  and  said  :  '  Did 
you  ever  see  me  before?'  'I  think  not,'  said  I.  'Do  you 
remember  a  man  who  asked  you  to  preach  one  night  at 
Uvaldi  ?  '  'I  recollect  preaching  there  on  somebody's  invi- 
tation, but  have  forgotten  who  he  was.'  'Well,  I  am  the 
man.  I  was  the  leader  of  an  infidel  club  :  we  met  weekly  to 
discuss  religion  and  confirm  each  other  in  unbelief,  and  I 
asked  you  to  preach,  expecting  to  get  something  new  and 
fresh  for  entertainment  at  our  next  meeting.  The  word  you 
preached  went  through  me  like  an  arrow.  I  went  to  scoff 
but  left  to  pray,  and  found  no  rest  till  I  was  converted  ;  and 
now  I  am  a  preacher  and  a  member  of  this  Conference,  and 
have  been  for  several  years.  I  have  longed  to  see  you  and 
to  tell  you  this.  I  was  wicked,  dissipated,  and  reckless,  and 
would  have  been  dead  and  lost  but  for  the  change  begun  that 
night.' 

"  The  case  was  this  :  The  stage  stopped  at  Uvaldi — a  little 
frontier  village — about  sundown.  I  was  asked  to  preach,  and 
agreed  to  do  so.  We  assembled  in  a  small '  upper  chamber,' 
about  fifteen  feet  square,  and  it  was  full  of  people.     I  knew 


G20  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.         [Chap.  XX 

they  seldom  heard  a  sermon,  and  felt  deeply  interested  to 
show  them  the  way  of  salvation  ;  but  my  main  thought  was 
to  relieve  myself  of  responsibility,  and  I  hardly  hoped  for  a 
gracious  result  as  to  others.  The  time,  place,  and  surround- 
ings were  all  unpropitious.  This  was  in  1859.  Thank  God 
one  soul  was  won  to  Christ,  and  is  now  working  in  his  vine- 
yard. Tin's  man's  story  recalled  another  incident  of  the  oc- 
casion. After  service  I  sat  down,  in  the  dark,  on  a  bench 
under  a  large  live-oak.  Presently  three  young  men  came 
and  sat  down  on  another  bench  on  the  opposite  side  of  the 
tree  and  began  a  conversation.  One  said,  '  Well,  boys,  1 
never  expect  to  hear  another  sermon.'  The  others  expressed 
surprise.  Said  one,  '  Don't  you  like  to  hear  preaching?' 
4  Yes — I  have  liked  it  very  much,  but  I  am  done.'  The 
rest. remonstrated  with  him  and  demanded  a  reason.  '  Well,' 
s.iid  he,  '  that  fellow  made  it  so  plain  to-night  —  I  cm  sec  all 
the  way  through — I  am  afraid  if  1  hearany  of  the  rest  of  them 
I  will  get  confused.'  He  vowed  he  would  try  the  journey 
with  the  light  he  had. 

"Pardon  me — I   have  digressed.     The  Conference  v. 

ksant  one  and  the  reports  of  the  work  encouraging.  The 
presence  of  three  Mexican  preachers  added  very  much  to  the 
interest  of  the  occasion.  The  Mexican  Border  District  is 
full  of  promise.  A  genuine  work  of  grace  is  in  progress 
there.  The  field  is  white  unto  the  harvest.  More  laborers 
are  needed  to  enter  the  open  doors.  If  the  missionary  treas- 
ury could  respond  to  my  call,  two  years'  labor  would  make 
a  grand  report.  This  work  on  the  circumference  is  yielding 
more  converts  than  the  work  at  the  centre,  from  local  and 
social  causes  :  in  the  one  there  is  a  revolt  from  Catholicism, 
and  Prote>tanti<m  is  embraced  as  another  theory  of  religion  ; 
in  the  other  the  people  become  Protestants  by  a  personal 
experience  of  converting  grace.  Both  fields  must  be  occu- 
pied— the  ground  broken,  'the  good  seed'  sown — the  har- 
vest will  come. 

"  San  Antonio  has  grown  very  much,  and  waits  the  advent 
of  a  railroad  in  hope  of  larger  expansion.     For   a  man   with 


1875-3  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  621 

means  it  is  a  delightful  place  to  live.  The  poor  struggle 
here  as  elsewhere.  The  climate  is  charming.  The  old  ca- 
thedral— one  of  the  ancient  landmarks  of  the  town — has  a 
modernized  front  ;  and  the  Alamo,  famous  in  Texas  history, 
is  now  a  sort  of  warehouse.  The  old  is  giving  way  to  the 
new — the  historic  to  the  utilitarian — the  Mexican,  with  his 
immutable  slowness  and  simplicity,  to  the  progressive  Amer- 
ican, with  his  modern  improvements.  San  Antonio  will  be 
a  great  place  by  and  by. 

"  At  San  Antonio  I  had  a  delightful  home  with  Mr.  Ben- 
nett and  family.  They  showed  me  great  kindness.  The  di- 
vine benediction  rest  upon  them. 

"  Texas  is  an  empire  in  area  and  capacity,  and  the  possi- 
bilities of  her  future  are  magnificent.  Among  those  who  feel 
settled,  it  is  amusing  to  see  how  vitally  they  have  identified 
themselves  with  the  country  and  its  interests.  They  will  re- 
sent a  criticism  upon  the  soil,  climate,  water,  population, 
politics,  religion,  or  any  Texan  peculiarity,  as  quickly  as 
though  you  had  found  fault  with  them  or  their  families.  I 
like  the  spirit.  There  is  power  in  it.  It  can  be  turned  to 
good  account.  I  hope  the  Conferences  will  avail  themselves 
of  it  to  build  up  their  institutions.  The  glory  of  Texas  is  the 
patrimony  of  every  citizen — an  undivided  estate — it  all  be- 
longs to  each.  Every  well-satisfied  Texan  (and  their  name  is 
legion)  is  perfectly  amazed  that  the  whole  country  does  not 
empty  itself  out  there  at  once  ;  for  he  thinks  we  are  all  bound 
to  come.  To  him  it  seems  a  simple  choice  between  plenty 
and  starvation  ;  or,  at  least,  between  poverty  and  wealth. 
We  who  dwell  in  these  old  Eastern  States  are  objects  of  pity. 
They  are  sorry  for  us,  and  wonder  at  our  stupidity  and  infat- 
uation. The  preachers  and  people  teased  my  little  travelling 
companion,  George,  very  much  about  the  poor  land,  red 
hills,  and  gullies  of  old  Georgia.  He  was  greatly  troubled, 
for  Georgia  was  his  beau  ideal  of  a  State,  and  Sparta*  his 
standard  of  a  town.  He  had  many  debates  with  the  old  and 
the  young,  and  the  big  tales  they  told  him  about  the  produc- 
tions of  the  country  rather  nonplussed  him.     But  he  was  a 


B8I  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.         IObas.  XX. 

close  observer,  and  had  been  with  me  to  several  missionary 
meetings — heard  the  reports  at  Conference  ;  so  when  hard 
pressed  by  a  crowd,  who  were  having  their  own  fun  out  of 
him,  he  silenced  them  all  by  saying,  '  You  may  1-augh  about 
the  little  cotton  stalks,  the  red  hills,  and  the  gullies  ;  but 
when  it  comes  to  a  collection  we  can  beat  you  all  to  pieces.' 
(Moral— brag  less  or  give  more.)" 

I  cannot,  of  course,  give  all  he  wrote  of  his  travels,  in- 
teresting reading  as  it  is.  He  presided  at  the  German  Mis- 
sion Conference  of  which  he  says: 

"      .      .  The  German  Mission  Conference  is  a  small 

body,  but  full  of  pluck  and  enterprise.  The  preachers  and 
the  people  are  loyal  to  the  Church.  They  stand  up  liberally 
to  all  its  interests.  The  Conference  covers  a  large  territory, 
and  at  some  points  has  had  considerable  prosperity.  In  the 
examinations  the  brethren  deal  with  each  other  with  great 
directness  and  fidelity,  and  all  appear  deeply  concerned  t<> 
maintain     and    propagate    a    pure    evangelism.     With    them 

thodism  embodies  their  highest  conceptions  of  spiritual 
religion,  and  <>f  wise  and  str  nization  for  doing  go 

The  financial  help  furnished  by  their  American  brethren  is 
gratefully  appreciated.  Would  that  we  could  do  more.  The 
religious  services  conducted  in  German  did  not  edify  me 
much,  but  those  who  under-'  nied  to  me  to  say  amen 

at  the  right  place,  and  with  a  will.  They  respond  freely — 
heartily.  Most  of  our  churches  arc  asylums  for  the  dumb. 
In  crowded  houses  ofttiracs  I  feel  as  if  I  were  praying  in  a 
graveyard.  This  dead  silence  is  a  compliment  to  the  world 
at  the  expense  of  simple,  hearty,  outspoken  religion.  I 
everything  that  hath  breath  praise  the  Lord. 

"  One  more  Conference — the  seventh,  and  last  for  this 
campaign.  Early  in  the  morning  we  took  the  cars  for  Hous- 
ton, and  next  for  Hempstead,  and  then  for  Brenham — the 
sea%of  the  Texas  Conference.  Arrive  in  good  time,  and  talc- 
lodging  with  Colonel  Giddings,  of  whom  land  many  more 
might  say  as  many  good  things  as  Paul  said  of  '  Gaius  mine 
host.'     We  were  fed  and  lodged,  and  transported  back  and 


1875-]  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  G23 

forth  every  day,  in  princely  style.  A  way  to  ride  I  rank  high 
on  the  list  of  favors.  Walking  is  an  addition  to  other  labors 
I  neither  covet  nor  enjoy.  I  can  do  it,  but  had  rather  be  ex- 
cused. Brother  Giddings  made  me  very  comfortable  in  all 
respects.  The  parlor,  the  chamber,  the  table,  all  had  their 
appropriate  charms — and  then  I  rode  in  and  out,  and  thus 
saved  my  strength  for  the  chair,  the  cabinet,  and  the  pulpit. 

"The  present  session  was  to  me  a  very  pleasant  one. 
Socially  and  religiously  I  had  a  good  time.  The  cares  and 
responsibilities  of  my  office  I  have  learned  to  bear  with 
equanimity  of  spirit.  Conscious  of  a  sincere  desire  to  do 
right  in  the  kindest  way,  '  without  partiality  and  without 
hypocrisy,'  seeking  the  wisest  counsel  within  and  without, 
my  position  can  command,  and  humbly  invoking  the  divine 
direction  and  blessing  when  my  work  is  done,  my  mind  sinks 
into  satisfaction  and  repose.  Mistakes  may  have  been  made 
(infallibility  is  no  endowment  of  mine)  and  dissatisfaction  may 
be  felt.  But  dissatisfaction,  either  with  preacher  or  people, 
is  no  proof  of  mistake.  There  are  so  many  ways  of  account- 
ing for  any  friction  that  may  follow,  that  I  am  always  content 
to  await  the  vindication  of  time,  Providence,  and  grace.  So 
I  rest  and  always  hope  for  the  best." 

I  have  preferred  to  give  his  account  of  his  journeyings 
without  breaking  their  connection,  and  to  give  his  letters  to 
his  own  dear  ones  altogether. 

To  Ethel. 

"  Dallas,  Tex.,  November  18,  1875. 
"Thank  you  for  your  loving  letter.  I  have  been  staying 
at  two  places  where  there  were  some  little  girls  like  you.  I 
told  them  about  you,  how  much  you  loved  me,  how  sweet 
you  were.  I  promised  them  I  would  tell  you  about  them. 
You  must  ask  me  about  them  when  I  get  back.  It  will  be  a 
long  time  yet  before  you  will  see  me  on  the  cars.  One  of 
the  bishops  is  dead,  and  another  is  sick.  I  have  to  do  my 
work  and  his  too.     Keep  praying  for  me.     God  bless  you. 

"  Your  loving 

"  Grandfather.'' 


(J -24  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.         [Chip.  xx. 

To  his  Wife. 

"  San  Antonio,  Tex.,  October  19,  1875. 

"  God  bless  you  and  all  the  children.  I  reached  here  at 
one  r.M.,  and  got  two  letters  from  you,  one  from  Ella,  one 

from  Claude,  one  from  Mary,  one  from  Tom  D ,  and  one 

from  Pierce.     The  latest  date  of  any  is  the  nth.      Hope  to 
hear  again  while  here.      My  heart  warms  to  yon  all. 

"  Well,  I  have  been  to  Austin,  to  San  Marcos,  by  Gen- 
eral Pitts's  place,  and  now  am  in  this  old  Mexican  town.  It 
has  grown  and  improved  vastly  since  we  were  here.  The 
whole  country  has  settled  up  very  much. 

"  I  am  staying  with  a  Mr.  Bennett,  his  wife  a  Methodist, 
an  elegant  place.      My  room  is  ahead   of  anything  about 

rta,  even  the  parlors.  We  had  coffee  for  dinner,  and  it 
was  coffee.     Everything  as  pleasant  as  I  could  desire. 

"  ...  I  am  out  of  kttcr  paper,  and  must  go  into 
the  city  to  find  some  before  I  write  to  the  rest.  Put  I  can- 
not put  you  off,  and  so  I  use  this  half-sheet.  Everything, 
mall,  that  I  can  do  to  make  you  happy,  my  heart 
prompts,  I  would  not  fail  you  in  anything.  I  owe  you 
much  in  many  ways,  and  keep  trying  to  pay  up,  but,  I  fear, 
imperfectly." 

1  October  20,  1875. 

"  1  )i  \i;  Ti  iMMIE  :  George  i^  writing  to  Johnnie,  so  I  drop 
you  a  line.  We  are  far  away  from  you  all  ;  but  this  is  the 
furthest  place.  We  shall  take  the  back  track  next  Monday, 
but  will  be  a  long  time  on  the  way.  We  see  many  curious 
things — great  herds  of  horses,  droves  of  cattle,  flocks  of  sheep. 
Twelve  oxen  to  a  wagon  and  no  rope  to  any  of  them.  How 
do  you  suppose  they  are  managed  ?  Think  of  that.  George 
is  writing  a  book  ;  you  must  read  it. 

"How  do  you  get  on  with  Latin?  Can  you  decline 
penna?  I  must  examine  you.  Get  ready.  Try  to  learn. 
Improve  your  mind  by  reading.  Write  a  good  deal.  Spell 
right.  Above  all,  try  to  be  good.  Write  to  me.  Kiss  Ella 
and  Annie  and  Ethel  for  me.     Good  night." 


l875-3  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  625 

"Dallas,  Tex.,  November  18,   1875. 

"  Dear  Ella  and  Annie  and  Ethel  :  Grandfather 
wishes  to  see  you  all  so  bad,  hear  you  talk  and  laugh,  feel 
your  little  arms  about  his  neck,  have  you  in  his  lap,  and  kiss 
you  all  over  and  over  again. 

"  How  are  Ready  and  Trusty?  Do  they  grow?  Are 
they  smart  ?     Do  you  feed  them  ? 

"  Look  out  for  me  some  of  these  days.  Come  down  to 
the  train  and  let  me  hug  you.  Pray  for  me,  as  I  do  for  you. 
'■*  Affectionately,  GRANDFATHER." 

"  Dallas,  Tex.,  November  18,  1875. 

"My  DEAR  ELLA:  Your  letter  to  Paris  reached  me  at 
Corsicana.  Glad  to  get  it  any  time.  I  am  on  my  way  to 
Carthage.  George  and  I  keep  well.  Both  are  longing  for 
home.  In  twenty-seven  days  I  expect  to  turn  my  face  and 
my  steps  to  the  East.  How  long  it  will  take  to  get  home  I 
know  not ;  some  four  or  five  days  at  least.  I  am  a  long  way 
off. 

"  Well,  what  are  you  all  about  ?  How  does  the  crop 
turn  out  ?  Any  financial  improvement  ?  Is  the  Judge  hope- 
ful or  cast  down  ?  Has  he  got  my  sheep  ?  Stir  him  up. 
Your  sausage  hog  is  gone  '  glimmering,'  I  learn.  We  will 
try  Augusta  again.      Feed  the  turkeys.      Buy  some  more. 

"I  preach  to-day  at  eleven.  Leave  to-night.  Am 
thronged  with  company.     '  Oh  for  a  lodge !  '  " 

"  Brenham,  December  10,  1875. 
"  My  Dear  Claude:  A  large  batch  of  letters  have  been 
forwarded  to  me  from  Carthage,  among  them  yours  to  George. 
We  have  fared  very  well  this  trip  in  the  way  of  letters.  You 
deserve  high  commendation.  Many  daughters  have  done 
well  (even  mine),  but  thou  excellest  them  all  ;  and  now,  lest 
you  should  be  exalted  above  measure,  how  much  of  my  share 
is  due  to  George's  being  with  me  '  this  deponent  sayeth  not.' 
But  never  mind,  I  got  the  letters.  Herein  I  rejoice,  yea, 
and  will  rejoice. 
40 


62G  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.        [Ch.u-.  xx 

"  Well,  George  and  I  are  counting  the  days,  and  planning 
the  routes,  and  guessing  the  time  of  our  arrival.  lie  is  much 
disquieted  at  the  thought  of  getting  home  on  Friday  or  Sat- 
urday. He  wishes  to  lie  over  somewhere,  so  that  we  may 
arrive  on  Monday.  He  wants  time  to  tell  his  story  before 
Sunday.  I  shall  not  humor  him,  if/  can  help  it.  I  am  for 
home — any  day — the  earliest  preferred. 

"I  do  hope  there  will  be  no  skeletons  to  mar  our  Christ- 
mas feast.  Let  us  all  do  the  best  we  can,  stud}'  economy 
and  thrift,  and  put  our  trust  in  God.  A  good  name  is  better 
than  great  riches.  Honesty,  industry,  patience,  hope,  and 
faith  will  bring  us  all  through.  Watchman,  what  of  the 
night? --The  morning  cometh.  Good-night.  May  good 
angels  encamp  all  about  you,  and  the  God  of  angels  and  men, 
our  God  and  Father,  bless  y<>u  and  yours." 

i  m  i..  Ti  \.,  November  22,  1875. 
"  M  CLAUDE:    Your  last  came  to  me  like  a  breeze 

from  Araby  the  blest,  laden  with  perfume.  Your  love,  con- 
fidence, and  devotion  are  appreciated  beyond  measure.  The 
love  of  my  children    I    rank  among  the   richest  natural  bit 

of  my  life.  Hut  none  of  you  can  exceed  me.  My  heart 
'iid-,  throb  for  throb.  I  ache  now  to  see  you  all.  Your 
concerns  me  most  just  now.  The  end  of  the  year  is 
c  >ming,  and  settlements  must  be  made.  I  feel  that  all  will 
come  out  right.  Wait  and  see.  Hope  and  be  patient.  The 
Lord  will  provide.  Do  not  pine  or  be  scared.  The  morning 
cometh. 

"  G<  01  ;_,re  is  getting  tired.  The  hope  of  seeing  the  Gulf 
of  Mexico  next  week  keeps  him  up.  After  that  1  expect  he- 
will  cave.  He  is  doing  well  ;  becomes  a  favorite  with  all  the 
families  where  lie  stops.  Tell  Claude  he  lias  picked  up  some 
more  sweethearts  down  here  in  Texas.  He  has  got  to  kiss- 
ing the  girls,  and  smacks  his  lips  as  if  he  liked  the  sport.  He 
amuses  the  people  with  his  talk.  Georgia  is  his  standard, 
and  Sparta  the  chief  place  in  Georgia.  They  are  '  br; 
out  here.      George  told  a  crowd  of  them  the  other  day,  '  You 


1S75-3  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  027 

all  laugh  at  the  red  hills  of  Georgia,  but  when  it  comes  to  a 
collection  we  beat  you  all  to  pieces.'  It  was  a  centre  shot. 
They  give  but  little  here  to  anything.  George  had  noticed 
it,  and  let  them  have  it.  Well,  good-by  for  a  while.  Time 
running  out. 

"  Love,  love  to  all." 

During  the  summer  he  went  to  the  mountains,  and  his 
letter  from  the  Dahlonega  District  incidentally  gives  us  a 
view  of  his  opinions  on  education.  He  did  not  think  the 
common  free-school  system  was  wise.  He  did  believe  in  the 
State  having  a  judicious  poor-school  system,  and  standing  in 
loco  parentis,  whenever  the  parent  was  not  able  to  help  his 
child,  and  he  believed  in  a  State  University,  well  endowed 
and  well  sustained,  for  the  education  of  teachers. 

"  I  hope  the  Trustees  of  Athens  will  double  the  ap- 
propriation to  this  important  adjunct  of  the  University.  As 
I  cannot  attend  the  session,  I  have  written  recommending 
this,  and,  if  present,  would  urge  it  earnestly.  Let  the  State 
support  the  higher  institutions  of  learning,  and  provide 
through  them  a  sufficient  number  of  well-qualified  teachers, 
and  the  people  will  take  care  of  the  common  schools  without 
her  intermeddling.  I  am  no  friend  to  the  common-school  sys- 
tem. Something  is  due  to  parental  responsibility  in  primary 
education,  and  the  only  duty  of  the  State,  in  my  judgment,  is 
to  provide,  from  her  own  population — by  endowment  of  her 
University  and  its  branches,  and  by  extension  of  their  privi- 
leges to  deserving  young  men — the  needful  teachers,  and 
leave  the  rest  to  the  churches  and  the  people.  I  hope  the 
college  at  Dahlonega  will  get  speedy  help,  and  enough  of  it 
to  enable  her  to  fulfil  her  grand  mission." 

He  went  to  Texas  in  August  and  preached  at  San  Marco 
C.  M.  ;  Hempstead,  Dallas,  Bethel  C.  M.  ;  Palestine,  George- 
town, Ennis,  and  Waxahachie,  spending  quite  a  month,  dur- 
ing which  period  he  preached  twenty-four  times.  He  went 
on  his  fall  visitations,  and  returned  to  meet  the  Conference  in 
Sparta. 


G28  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pie/re.         [Chap  x-^ 

He  presided  over  the  North  Mississippi  and  the  Memphis 
Conferences  in  the  early  part  of  November,  and  came  back  in 
good  time  to  preside  over  the  North  Georgia  Conference, 
which  was  to  meet  for  that  session  in  Sparta.  Seventy  years 
before,  the  South  Carolina  Conference,  of  which  Georgia  was 
at,  held  its  session  in  Sparta,  then  a  very  small  village  ; 
and  here  Lovick  Pierce,  and  his  brother  Reddick,  were  re- 
ceived into  full  connection.  The  old  doctor  was  still  living, 
and  furnished  to  the  town  paper  an  article  on  the  Conference 
of  seventy  years  before. 

There  were  many  things  connected  with  this  Conference 
which  made  it  one  of  great  interest  to  Bishop  Pierce.  It  was 
in  Sparta,  near  his  home.  His  father  was  at  it.  Lovick,  his 
son,  was  a  lay  delegate  t"  it,  and  was  to  entertain  a  score  of 
its   members.      Hancock    was   deeply  int  in   the   Con- 

ference, ami  do  her  best  to  entertain  it,  and  to  attend 

isions.  If  •  felt  a  kind  of  county  pride  in  the  work  be- 
well  done;  I  .  when  he  returned  from  the  West  he 
returned  with  a  fearful  soreness  of  the  throat.  He  could  not 
ich  or  eat,  and  could  barely  talk-;  but  he  presided  over 
the  Conference  -  and  saw  to  the  appointments.  Ili- 
indomitablc  will  kept  him  up,  he  filled  his  place,  and  presided 
ovei  m.  Hi-  friends  saw  he  was  .1  very  sick  man, 
but  he  made  as  though  it  was  a  light  thing.  His  friend- 
that  he  must  stop  or  die,  and  urged  upon  him  attention  to 
hi-  health.  He  had  not  been  seriously  sick  since  lie  came 
from  California,  and  lie  had  accounted  that  severe  and   i 

:d  sickness  as  a  small  matter,  and  he  accounted  this  .1 
-mailer  one  ;  a  mere  sore  throat,  which  would  soon  yic\< 
treatment.  When  a  skilful  physician  examined  him,  he  pro- 
nounced the  disease  pharyngitis,  and  told  him  candidly  it 
was  seldom  cured.  He  must  desist  from  preaching,  and  he 
consented  to  do  so  for  a  little  while.  The  pulpit  was  to  him 
a  necessity.  He  loved  it.  He  luxuriated  in  preaching  the 
pel.  He  did  not  preach  at  the  South  Georgia  Confer- 
ence, held  at  Sandersvillc,  but  he  did  at  the  Florida,  and 
while  he  did  not  leave  home  in  the  early  part  of  the  year,  he 


A 


FERDINAND    PHINIZY. 


l875.]  life,  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  629 

preached  every  Sunday  for  a  month,  till  he  went  to  Florida 
again,  which  he  did  in  March,  going  as  far  as  Manatee 
County,  and  returning  to  Sparta  in  April,  preaching  twelve 
times  during  the  month  he  was  absent. 

In  May  he  went  to  Nashville,  and  from  there  wrote  his 
wife,  April  29,  1877  : 

"  Thus  far  the  Lord  hath  brought  me  on  safely.  I  am  at 
McFerrin's.  Leave  here  in  the  morning.  Found  Pa  at 
Chattanooga,  in  fine  condition.  Stood  the  trip  well.  Looks 
well. 

"  I  thought  of  you  and  the  future  all  the  way.  All  things 
will  work  right,  I  believe.      Let  us  trust  God  and  be  patient. 

"  Be  sure  to  write.  Make  Doc  write,  Claude,  Mary,  and 
Ann.  Ella  promised.  Pierce  was  well.  His  heart  was  full 
when  he  saw  me." 

The  year  1876  was  the  last  year  of  health  the  dear  old 
bishop  was  ever  to  have.  The  next  eight  years  were  a 
struggle  for  life.  They  were  beautiful,  though  painful ;  for 
they  told  the  story  of  cheerful,  patient  endurance,  which  has 
not  often  been  told.  He  had  been  very  busy  in  his  work  for 
Emory  College,  and  his  general  oversight  of  the  Church,  in 
the  District  Conferences.  He  spent  about  six  months  of 
every  year  remote  from  home,  and  while  he  was  resting  he 
spent  his  time  in  careful  supervision  of  the  Georgia  work. 

Fie  was  to  preach  the  Commencement  sermon  at  Athens. 
He  was  the  guest  of  Ferdinand  Phinizy.  The  Sunday  morn- 
ing of  the  Commencement  he  said  to  his  host : 

"  Phinizy,  I  am  puzzled  to  know  what  to  do  to-day.  I 
feel  very  much  like  preaching  an  old  camp-meeting  sermon, 
but  I  am  afraid  it  will  be  out  of  place  ;   what  do  you  think  ?  " 

"  Well,  bishop,"  said  his  host,  "  if  you  leave  it  to  me,  I 
do  hope  you  will  give  them  the  old-time  Gospel." 

"  Very  well,  let  me  be  quiet ;  don't  talk  to  me." 

They  rode  to  the  chapel  together,  and  he  preached  with 
old-time  fervor  and  unction.  The  subject  was  his  favorite 
theme,  the  power  of  the  Gospel  as  seen  in  the  cross  of 
Jesus  Christ.     He  was  at  his  best ;  Bishop  Beckwith,  Chan- 


G30  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.         [Cuap.  xx. 

cellor  Lipscomb,  Professor  (afterward  Chancellor)  Mell,  Dr. 
(afterward  Chancellor)  Tucker,  General  Toombs,  Governor 
Jenkins,  and  Mr.  Stephens  were  present.  The  elite  of 
Georgia  filled  the  pews,  but  he  saw  only  sin  and  the  Saviour. 
I  shall  not  attempt,  as  I  have  not  attempted,  to  describe  him 
in  these  hours  of  triumph.  I  should  as  soon  attempt  to  de- 
scribe a  gorgeous  sunrising,  or  the  midday  glories*of  South- 
ern April. 

He  met  his  Conferences  in  the  fall  and  preached  at  all  of 
them.  Me  was  still  confident  that  his  throat  trouble  would 
give  way,  and  never  allowed  himself  to  be  at  all  depressed. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

TOWARD    THE   SUNSET,  1878-1884,  AGED  67-73. 

General  Conference  in  Atlanta— Break  down— Kentucky  Conference- 
Indian  Mission — Arkansas — Death  of  Dr.  Lovick  Pierce — Visits  to 
Texas— Letters  from  North  Carolina— Love  of  the  Preachers— Last 
Presidency  in  the  Georgia  Conferences — Alabama — Florida— Strug- 
gle for  life — Close  of  his  Work. 

The  General  Conference  met  in  Atlanta  in  May.  It  was  a 
trying  session.  There  were  delicate  and  unusual  questions 
to  be  disposed  of,  in  which  there  was  much  to  disturb. 

The  Publishing  House  was  bankrupt,  and  a  debt  of 
$350,000,  for  the  payment  of  which  the  honor  of  the  Church 
was  pledged,  hung  over  it.  The  assets  of  the  concern  could 
not  pay  one-half  the  debt,  and  they  were  all  mortgaged. 

Bishop  Pierce  was  virtually  the  Senior  Bishop,  and  felt  the 
responsibility  of  his  position.  He  had  heavy  burdens  of  his 
own  to  bear,  but  he  had  now  these  Church  burdens  in  addi- 
tion. The  throat  trouble  did  not  give  way,  but  it  did  not 
pain  him,  and  did  not  always  affect  his  voice.  So  he  was 
able  to  preside,  and  he  made  some  of  his  most  effective 
speeches  during  the  session. 

Some  one  had  sent  him  a  pair  of  California  quails,  and  he 
sent  them  home  and  wrote  to  his  wife,  May  3d  : 

"  Bless  your  old  soul ;  you  will  not  write  to  me,  so  I  will 
keep  writing  till  I  stir  you  up. 

"  I  hope  the  birds  got  home  safely ;  take  good  care  of  them. 
Give  them  some  green  thing  to  eat.  Tell  Doc  to  have  a  cage 
made  of  laths,  the  bigger  the  better,  and  set  it  under  the 
fig-trees  in  the  garden.  Put  some  brush  in  the  cage  for  a 
hiding-place.      I  want  them  to  lay  and  set  and  hatch.      Let 


682  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.       [Chap.  xxi. 

me  know  how  they  come  on.  Don't  let  the  children  disturb 
them. 

"The  Conference  starts  off  slowly.  Heap  of  gas  and 
gab  on  hand.  I  will  let  you  know  when  to  come.  I  am  tired 
already.  Throat  is  better.  Will  keep  on  writing  to  some  uf 
yuu.      Love  and  peace" 

To  E/la,  later. 

"  Vou  need  not  think  me  indifferent,  because  I  have  not 
written.  Mother  will  bring  you  the  evidence  of  my  thought 
and  affection.  Bless  your  little  soul.  I  shall  not  forget  my 
dear  first-born. 

"  I  am  wearied  with  cares  and  labors  here.  No  rest  by 
day  "i  night.  Conference  moves  slowly,  but  safely.  The 
main  thing  is  yet  on  hand  the  'Publishing  House.'  It 
comes  up  in  the  morninf  ther  goes  home  in  the  morn- 

ing, and  can  n    all   the   social   news.      I    keep   up,   but 

still  annoyed  with  my  throat.  Am  hoping  for  the  best.  I 
write  to  Ethel  0:1  the  other  page.  Kiss  her  for  me.  I  semi 
some  dn  la,  Annie, and  Ethel.     Love  to  all." 

I  le  held  hi-  place  as  President  in  his  turn,  ami  was  busy  in 
mcil  with  the   wise   men   of  the  Church.      The  question  of 
a  proper  settlement  of  the  publishing  interests,  which  pre 
upon  all,   gave  him  much  concern.      He  believed   that  if  Dr. 
McFerrin  would  take  the  agency  confidence  would  return, 
the  bonds  could  be  sold,  the  property  saved,  and  the  Ghar- 
ri of  the  house    upheld.      The   doctor   refused   to   take   the 
place.      He  -aid  he  was  too  old.      He  could  not  attend  to  the 
The  bishop  ted  that   if  some  one  would   take 

the  management  of  the  business  the  ca<e  might  be  relieved. 

The  old  doctor  was  willing  to  yield  if  that  man  could  be 
found.  The  bishop  had  his  eye  on  him.  He  was  an  old 
student  at  <  beford,  Lewis  I).  Palmer,  then  a  member  of  the 
Conference    from    L<  les.      Sending  for   him,   he  said 

to  him,  "  Lewis,  you  are  not  a  preacher,  but  you  love  the 
Church  ;  now  I  want  you  to  do  one  thing  for  me  and  the 
Church,"  and  he  laid  before  him  the  scheme.      Palmer  prom- 


ws-1884.]         nfe  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  633 

ised  to  consider  the  matter,  and  he  did  so,  and  finally  gave 
his  consent  to  take  the  business  management,  and  to  his  care- 
fulness and  untiring  energy  the  relief  of  the  house  is  largely 
due.  Bishop  Pierce  did  not  think  the  time  opportune  for  the 
election  of  new  bishops.  He  perhaps  paid  a  high  price  for 
this  opinion,  and  years  of  suffering  might  have  been  averted 
if  he  had  thought  of  the  Church  less  and  of  himself  more  ; 
but  that  was  never  his  way. 

The  death  of  Marvin  left  Paine,  Pierce,  Wightman, 
Doggett,  McTyiere,  Keener,  and  Kavanaugh  as  the  Episco- 
pal College.  These  men  were  none  of  them  young,  and  but 
two  of  them  really  vigorous.  The  work  had  expanded,  the 
demands  of  the  District  Conferences  were  imperious,  and  it 
would  have  required  a  stronger  argument  than  any  presented 
at  that  time  to  have  convinced  all  that  no  bishop  should  have 
been  elected.  The  result  of  this  failure  to  strengthen  the 
college  was  seen  painfully  before  the  General  Conference  of 
1882  assembled,  and  most  so  when  Pierce,  who  ought  to 
have  been  at  home  resting,  was  compelled  by  the  exigencies 
of  the  times  to  travel  through  dust  and  heat  and  wind  and 
storm.  The  Conference,  after  a  long  and  most  important 
session,  at  last  ended  its  sitting  and  he  went  home.  He  had 
overtaxed  himself,  and  with  the  heat  of  June  he  gave  way. 
He  was  quite  feeble  all  summer,  and  wrote  to  the  Advocate 
in  the  fall  : 

"  First,  let  me  say  that  during  the  summer  I  was  strangely 
out  of  order  ;  lost  flesh  and  strength,  grew  feeble,  and  found 
it  necessary  to  abate  my  labors.  When  the  time  for  the 
West  Virginia  Conference  came,  Bishop  McTyiere  kindly  of- 
fered to  substitute  for  me.  This  was  a  great  relief  to  my 
feelings  in  this  first  trial  of  my  official  life.  When  the  Ken- 
tucky Conferences  approached,  I  resolved  to  go.  My  friends 
and  the  doctors  remonstrated,  prophesied  evil,  and  saw  me 
depart  with  many  misgivings.  I  have  never  admitted  my 
disability  was  the  result  of  overwork  ;  such  things  have  been, 
but  mine  is  not  an  example  in  point.  Without  stopping  to 
define  or  explain,  my  ailments  had  a  different  origin.     Work 


G34  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.        [0***,  xxi. 

is  wholesome.  More  preachers  come  to  nought  from  lack  of 
it,  than  ever  suffer  from  excess.  I  am  happy  to  say  that  I 
steadily  improved  from  the  first  hour  of  my  leaving.  Did  all 
the  work  without  weariness,  and  returned  home  stronger  and 
with  several  pounds  of  flesh  upon  my  bones. 

"  Dr.  Wilson,  the  Missionary  Secretary,  was  present  to 
represent  the  great  interest  committed  to  him.  Grandly  he 
is  doing  his  work. 

"  BUhop  Kavanaugh  preached  for  me  on  Sunday.  Wise 
brethren  advised  me  not  to  tax  my  new-born  strength,  so  I 
took  up  the  cross  of  silence. 

"  On  Sunday  next  I  tried  to  preach  ;  felt  no  harm,  soul 
or  body." 

From  the  seat  of  the  Conference  he  wrote  his  wife  : 

"  Sin  i  r.Yvii  i.i .  September  19,  1878. 
"  It  is  late,  and  I  am  weary,  but  before  I   lie  down  I  take 
time  to  say  I  am  slowly  but  steadily  improving,  1  think.      The 
preachers  say  I  look  better  to-day  than  yesterday.     Well,  I 
am   thankful.      My  throat   is  about  the  eept  that   I 

cough  less.  That  is  something.  I  am  -anted  exactly  in  my 
home  here.  I  have  SOflBC  trouble  here  with  the  appointments 
— some  difficulties — but  I  shall  go  through  somehow.  I  have 
mule  two  little  speeches  with  great  effect.  The  general 
opinion  is  I  ought  not  to  preach  on  Sunday.      Love  to  all." 

To  /lis  Grandchild. 

"Cadi/,  Ky.,  October  4,  1878. 

"My  Dear  Claude:  ifi  were  to  tell  you  kow  imppy, 

how  delighted,  I  was  to  get  your  letter,  you  would  think  I 
was  making  fun.  I  WZSg'/ad  to  know  that  you  loved  me  and 
thought  of  me  in  my  absence,  and  then  your  letter  was  so  well 
written  as  to  fill  me  with  real  pleasure.  I  did  not  know  that  I 
had  so  promising  a  granddaughter.  You  have  real  talent  for 
writing,  and  I  hope  you  will  cultivate  it.  The  highest  attain- 
ment in  female  education  is  for  a  girl  to  learn  to  talk  elegantly 
and  to  write  gracefully.  .  ...... 


1878-1884]         Hfe  ami  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  635 

"  I  thank  you,  my  dear,  for  your  letter.  Now  a  word 
about  myself.  I  am  a  great  deal  better  than  when  I  left. 
Stronger,  able  to  work  without  fatigue,  can  eat,  sleep,  and 
preach.  Whether  I  have  fattened  any  I  cannot  tell,  for  I 
have  not  weighed.  I  have  consumed  beef  and  chicken  and 
pig,  coffee,  milk,  and  butter  enough,  to  say  nothing  of  biscuit, 
batter-cakes,  and  muffins,  and  pies,  to  put  flesh  on  a  skele- 
ton. 

"  Love  me,  pray  for  me,  even  as  I  do  for  you.  Kiss 
mother  and  all  for  me." 

A  little  later  to  his  wife  : 

"  Louisville,  September  28,  1878. 

"  I  have  just  written  to  pa  and  Claude  and  Dud,  but  every- 
body likes  their  own  letter  best,  so  though  I  have  written  to 
you  four  or  five  times,  and  will  not  have  another  chance  till 
I  get  to  Cadiz,  I  give  you  a  line  to-day. 

"  I  sent  a  book  through  the  post-office,  given  me  by  the 
authoress.  It  is  an  interesting  book.  The  family  with  whom 
I  staid  have  a  great  fancy  for  chickens,  and  the  man  proposed 
to  send  me  a  pair  of  '  Seabright  Bantams.'  They  are  beau- 
tiful. If  they  come,  take  good  care  of  them.  I  am  spending 
the  day  with  Bishop  Kavanaugh.  He  has  a  nice  home.  I  am 
in  good  condition.  Everybody  says  I  look  better  day  by  day. 
Perhaps  I  will  realize  your  dream.  Wish  I  may.  I  leave 
to-day  for  Russellville,  on  my  way  to  Conference.  I  hope  to 
find  many  letters  at  Cadiz.  You  are  all  in  my  debt  except 
Ann.  I  will  write  to  her  on  next  Monday.  Keep  praying 
for  me — my  health  and  safety.  God  has  been  good  to  me  in 
soul  and  body.  I  did  not  preach  at  Shelbyville,  but  made 
several  talks.  Expect  to  preach  a  short  sermon  to-morrow. 
Expect  to  get  home  on  October  12th.  Will  try  to  let  you 
know  more  definitely.     Afuch  love  to  all,  and  more  to  you." 

He  now  returned  home  decidedly  improved,  and  very 
hopeful  and  confirmed  in  his  opinion  that  work  was  good  foi 
him. 


S36  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.        [Okaf.XXI 

In  November  he  went  to  the  Virginia  Conference  at  Pe- 
tersburg.     From  thence  he  writes  to  his  wife  and  Claude  : 

•  PETERSBURG,  November  18,  1878. 

"  Your  letter  received  to  day.      Happy  to  hear  from  you. 

"The  weather  has  been  fine  up  to  Saturday;  then  clouds 
and  rain.  Vet  I  tried  to  preach  on  Sunday.  The  Lord 
helped  me  much.  I  never  had  such  extravagant  compliments 
in  my  life.  The  first-class  men  say  the  like  will  never  be 
heard  again  unless  I  am  the  preacher.  There,  how,  what  do 
you  think  of  that?     Oh,  well,  I   have  been   praised  till  I   am 

ited.       You  would  enjoy    it    more    than     I.       They  say 

1   am  a  great  favorite   in  this  country.     Well,   /  like  that. 

•   and   confidence   are  good  things.      Tell  pa    I    got  his 

letter,  and  will  write  to   Kennedy.      I   think  we  shall  adjourn 

to-morrow  night.      I  shall  go  to  Norfolk  to  fatten  on  fish  and 

ters.  My  health  is  good.  Hoarse  to-day  from  the 
weather — wet  and  chilly.      Have  some  care  and  trouble  in  my 

>inet,  as  usual.  Nothing  serious.  Will  write  to  some  of 
the   rest   wl,  t   through    here.      Love   to  all   the   tribe. 

Write    next   time   to    Reidsvillc,    N.    C.  ;   then    to    Charlotte. 
1  leaven  U  and  ours. 

"  p.s. — If  my  little  pet  is  with  you,  kiss  her  for  me.  Tell 
her  I  will  write  to  her." 

"  Charlotte,  N.  C,  December  4,  1878. 

"MY  DEAR  Ann:  Youf  short  sweet  epistle  is  at  hand. 
I  have  written  to  all  the  rest  and  now  for  your  turn. 

"  I  am  sorry  to  say  I  have  not  been  well  for  several  days. 
Have  had  another  bad  cold,  and  as  usual,  my  throat  sympa- 
thizes. 1  lope  for  the  best,  however.  Nothing  so  far  gives  me 
relief  from  coughing  and  expectoration.  It  makes  me  a 
nuisance  to  myself  and  others.  Yesterday  I  was  sick  from 
medicine.  Am  a  good  deal  better  and  may  come  as  soon  as 
this  letter.  It  seems  a  long  time  since  I  left  you  all.  I  long 
to  be  back.  Home  grows  dearer  as  age  comes  on,  and  all  the 
more   as  I  have   not   been    myself  for    months.      I   need   the 


1878-1884.]  ufe  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  637 

freedom  of  home,  the  presence  of  my  dear  ones  and  many 
nameless  things,  that  the  kindness  of  strangers  cannot  supply. 
I  fare  wonderfully  well,  the  preachers  all  love  me,  the  people 
are  attentive  and  obliging,  but  then  !  no  place  like  home.  I 
wish  I  was  there  now  with  the  whole  tribe  around  me.  Tell 
Pauline  she  must  not  forget  me.  Say  to  Foster  grandfather 
says  he  must  not  get  too  big  for  his  breeches.  Some  boys 
do.  Kiss  little  Ella  for  me.  Hope  to  find  her  stepping 
around  before  Christmas. 

"  My  love  to  all.     God  bless  you.     As  ever,  yours." 

"Charlotte,  N.  C,  1878. 

"  My  Darling  Claude  :  I  can  hardly  hope  for  a  letter 
from  you  this  time.  But  you  ought  not  to  be  left  out  be- 
cause you  are  careful  and  troubled  .about  many  things. 
Martha  had  no  children,  so  that  your  case  is  more  excusable 
than  hers.  Indeed  it  would  be  unreasonable  to  hold  you  to 
the  formal  ceremonies  of  polite  correspondence.  Your  father 
at  least  will  not  do  it,  nor  cloak  his  own  laziness  under  the 
pretense  of  being  neglected.  You  would  if  you  could.  I 
take  the  will  for  the  deed.  Your  loving  devotion  and  confi- 
dence is  a  great  satisfaction  to  me.  It  would  be  unjust  to  say 
you  love  me  more  than  the  others,  but  I  have  thought  that 
there  was  more  of  dependence  and  trust.  I  feel  so,  and  sym- 
pathize with  you  accordingly.  Oh  that  my  resources  were 
equal  to  my  will.  I  would  supply  all  your  wants,  anticipate 
every  trial,  and  strew  your  path  with  flowers.  But  I  can  only 
do  the  best  I  can.  Not  much,  but  free,  hearty  and  full  of 
love. 

"  Well,  I  am  in  good  health  and  spirits.  Eat,  sleep,  work 
day  and  night.  All  right  but  my  throat.  The  weather  for 
a  week  has  been  cloudy,  damp,  chilly.  This  is  bad  for  me, 
but  the  Lord  is  wonderfully  good  to  me.  I  have  been  able 
to  preach  and  meet  all  my  duties.  It  has  been  years  since  I 
was  in  these  Conferences,  and  their  greeting  is  so  loving  as  to 
be  almost  an  ovation.  They  embarrass  me  by  their  love  and 
admiration,  their  prayers  and  praises.     One  of  the  F.  F.  V.'s 


G38  Life  add  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.       [0***  XXL 

who  heard  me,  said  that  he  was  delighted,  but  sad  to  think 
that  such  a  man  as  I  had  to  die.  Forgive  this,  I  thought 
you  would  like  it.  Love  to  all.  Let  me  hear  from  some  of 
you  at  Newbury,  S.  C. 

"The  Lord  make  his  face  to  shine  upon  you  all." 

"  Charlotte,  November  30,  1878. 

"  Mv  DEAR  ETHEL:  Grandmother  writes  me  that  you 
have  been  staying  with  her  a  week.  I  am  glad  of  it  and 
happy  to  hear  that  you  talk  about  mc  sometimes.  I  love  for 
you  to  love  me  and  think  of  me.  I  hope  you  pray  for  me 
too.  I  pray  for  you  every  day.  I  want  you  to  be  good, 
sweet,  and  loving,  kind  to  your  brothers  and  sisters,  obedi- 
ent to  your  father  ami  mother.  You  must  love  the  Lord  and 
try  to  please  him.     This  is  the  way  to  be  happy.      You  must 

:>ack  to  stay  with  grandmother.  She  needs  somebody  to 
cheer  her  up,  now  that  she  has  hurt  herself.*  Go  up  and  wait 
on  her.  You  must  not  kick  her  on  her  sore  knee  at  night. 
Tell  mother  to  kiss  you  for  me,  and  then  you  kiss  her  back 
for  me.  Tell  Annie  I  will  bring  her  a  nice  present,  and  she 
must  love  me  too.  Did  you  get  my  letter  the  other  day  ?  I 
hope  so.  I  want  to  see  you  all  very  much.  It  is  late  at 
night,  and  now  I  must  go  to  bed.  Rosy  sleep  and  sweet 
dreams   be    with   you.     Love  to  all   the   folks. 

"  Your  loving  GRANDFATHER.*1 

There  never  was  a  man  more  universally  and  more  ten- 
derly loved  than  Bishop  Pierce,  at  every  period  of  his  life. 
Living  in  Georgia  ^ince  my  birth,  moving  among  the  people, 
•  whom  knew  him  from  his  boyhood,  I  never  knew 
a  good  man  ever  to  speak  harshly  of  him.  But  to  the 
preachers  he  was  especially  dear.  No  one  ever  feared  him. 
No  preacher  ever  feared  his  displeasure,  and  what  to  a  Metho- 
dic preacher  is  even  worse,  his  indifference.  They  knew  how 
carefully,  how  prayerfully,  and  how  lovingly  he  studied  each 
case.  That  not  the  great  alone,  but  the  humblest,  had  his 
concern.     They  always  loved  him,  but  now  when  he  was  strug- 

*  From  a  fall. 


1S78-1SS4.]         uje  and  Times  0f  George  F.  Pierce.  G39 

gling  so  for  life,  when  the  beautiful  eye  which  had  once  twin- 
kled, and  sparkled  with  the  gleam  of  the  highest  joy,  told 
now  the  unmistakable  story  of  days  and  nights  of  suffering, 
the  hearts  of  the  people  and  preachers  went  out  to  him  as 
never  before,  and  to  this  fact  he  most  tenderly  alludes.  The 
North  Carolina  preachers  felt  they  were  looking  upon  his  face, 
it  might  be  for  the  last  time.  The  steel  engraving  which  is 
presented  as  a  frontispiece  shows  the  sweetness  and  tender- 
ness of  his  look,  and  tells  how  the  ravages  of  disease  were 
there  ;  but  the  old  sweet  smile  was  there  still,  as  bright  and 
as  witching  as  in  the  days  of  his  first  circuit.  He  clung  more 
closely  to  his  old  friends,  Caleb  Key,  John  Knight,  now  in  his 
last  sad  days  ;  Duncan,  blind  and  old,  and  with  his  home 
broken  up  ;  Walter  Branham,  who  still  kept  his  house  open 
for  him  when  he  was  at  Oxford.  How  dear  these  were  all  to 
him  !  Hardy  Culver,  Hawley  Middlebrooks,  were  gone  to 
Heaven.  Dear  Dick  Johnson,  his  neighbor,  was  in  Balti- 
more. The  Colonel,  as  he  always  called  Colonel  Thomas 
Turner,  lived  not  far  from  him,  and  he  saw  him  daily.  Joe 
Lewis,  as  he  called  his  old  shoulder-to-shoulder  comrade,  was 
now  stricken  with  disease,  waiting  in  his  simple  home  at 
Sparta,  for  the  summons  from  above,  and  they  often  met. 
He  had  moved  from  Sunshine  to  his  large  house  in  Sparta, 
where  the  preachers  of  the  Church  could  come  and  see  him, 
and  his  hospitable  board  was  spread  for  all.  His  father  lived 
with  him.  The  pastor  of  the  village  station,  the  preacher  in 
charge  of  the  circuit,  and  especially  the  junior  preacher,  found 
in  him  counsellor  and  friend.  If  the  young  man  was  unlet- 
tered, if  he  was,  as  he  always  was,  inexperienced,  there  was 
nothing  that  tender  consideration  could  do  that  the  bishop 
did  not  do  for  him.  His  grandchildren  were  now  many,  and 
were  very  near  and  very  dear  to  him. 

His  daughters  lived  near.  Delicate  Mary  lived  in  the 
house  ;  Ella  at  Sunshine,  Claude,  not  far  away,  Ann,  a  few 
hundred  yards  from  his  home,  and  Doc,  as  he  always  called 
Lovick,  and  his  interesting  household,  close  to  him.  As  he 
realized  that  his  days  were  growing  fewer,  and  as  they  felt 


G40  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.        [c,,-u>-  XXI 

that  his  stay  was  shortening,  they  redoubled  all  the  effort 
that  tenderness  could  suggest  to  make  the  pathway  smooth. 
Thousands  of  prayers  went  up  for  him  daily.  The  man  grew 
more  ethereal,  more  heavenly,  until  his  wasted  face  shone 
like  the  face  of  Moses  on  the  Mount.  The  old  father  was 
with  him  all  the  time  now.  He  was  very  feeble  and  required 
constant  care,  and  the  good  bishop  was  always  with  him 
when  he  could  be  home.  He  was  sometimes  fretful  for  part 
of  a  moment,  sometimes  irritated  by  trifles,  but  it  was  over 
like  a  lightning  flash.  He  never  complained,  never  mur- 
mured, never  doubted,   never  surrendered.     He  believed  he 

lid  yet  get  well.  There  was  then,  as  there  is  now,  a  great 
specialist  in  Atlanta,  whose  fame  is  world-wide,  Dr.  A.  W. 
Calhoun.  Refusing  fee  or  reward  he  took  the  bishop's  case 
in  hand,  and  when  the  bishop  decided  that  he  must  have 
constant  medical  attendance,  he  put  himself  under  his  treat- 
ment. I  to  the  doctor's  office  were  necessary, 
and  in  them  he  spent  the  days  with  his  old  friend  Dr.  Iliedt. 
then   pastor  <>f  Trinity  Church   in   Atlanta. 

He,  however,  would  not  rest,  and  at  the  Bishops'  Meeting 
in  May,  he  took  a  Western  District  again.      His  work  did  not 

in  till  the  fall.  He  was  busy  iii  completing  the  work  on 
Emory  College,  and  had  been  compelled  to  borrow  large 
sums  of  money  to  make  the  college  ready  for  the  students 
who  were  now  flocking  to  its  halls,  under  the  Presidency  of 
Dr.  Haygood. 

During  this  summer  Ella,  his  first-born,  had  her  silver 
wedding,  and  to  her  the  good  father  writes  this  letter  : 

"Sparta,  July  21,  1879. 
'■  My  DEAR  ELLA:  You  are  my  first-born,  and  hold  no 
second  place  in  your  father's  heart.  I  wish  you  a  long  and 
happy  life.  A  short  estate  and  long  division  will  not  allow 
me  to  send  you  much.  But  along  with  this,  mother  will 
hand  you  a  small  memento — our  joint  recognition  of  your 
'  silver  wedding.'  Hope  you  will  have  many  presents  and  a 
happy  time." 


IS78-1884.]         jjfe  anj  Times  0f  George  F.  Pierce.  641 

In  September  he  began  his  journey  to  the  West.  He 
was  to  go  to  Indian  Mission,  then  return  to  St.  Louis.  Then 
to  Holston,  and  to  three  Arkansas  Conferences. 

His  first  letter  is  from  St.  Louis,  and  is  to  Ethel. 

"St.  Louis,  September  5,  1879. 

"My  Dear  Ethel:  I  am  resting  here  to-day,  and  will 
travel  all  night.  Went  down  into  the  city  this  morning  and 
saw  a  great  show  in  the  streets.  I  wish  you  and  Warren 
and  all  the  little  ones  had  been  with  me.  I  saw  eight  ele- 
phants hitched  to  a  chariot  of  gold,  and  a  lady  up  on  the  top 
of  it  ;  and  then  another  with  twelve  ponies  about  as  big  as 
my  little  bull,  and  eight  more  big  as  your  father's  merino 
ram  ;  and  then  about  one  hundred  of  the  finest  horses,  and 
men  and  women,  and  boys  and  girls,  all  covered  with  silver; 
and  then  a  wagon,  open  on  all  sides,  with  a  man  in  it,  on  one 
side  of  him  a  lion,  and  on  the  other  a  Bengal  tiger.  And 
then  a  band  of  music — set  up  high  on  a  carriage  drawn  by 
sixteen  horses.  Take  them  all  together  the  procession 
would  reach  from  the  front  gate  to  Sparta.  I  never  saw  any- 
thing equal  to  it.  I  must  tell  you  all  about  it  when  I  get 
back.  When  the  buggy  comes  you  must  go  to  school. 
Tell  mother  to  kiss  you  for  me.  Did  Wash's  clothes  fit  him  ? 
Does  he  like  them?  I  hope  so.  God  bless  you  and  all. 
Pray  for  me." 

"Fort  Smith,  September  6,  1879. 

"My  Dear  Ann:  We  reached  here  yesterday  about 
sundown.  Am  very  comfortably  quartered.  Lie  over  till 
Monday,  then  go  out  to  see  the  Indians.  Am  very  well  ex- 
cept some  disorder  in  my  bowels.  My  voice  is  good,  throat 
improves,  cough  very  little.  It  is  very  dry  out  here  and  the 
dust  is  against  me.  Walter  and  I  are  both  doing  well.  He 
is  very  thoughtful  and  observant.  Helps  me  in  many  little 
things.  He  is  very  anxious  to  see  the  Indians.  Some  pros- 
pect of  rain  to-day.  If  it  comes  and  then  clears  up,  it  will 
help  very  much.  We  have  travelled  nine  hundred  and  thir- 
teen miles.  So  you  see  we  are  far  apart.  Oh  !  that  I  could 
41 


G42  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.        [Cum-,  xxi. 

hear  from  you  all  this  morning.  I  hope  you  are  all  doing 
well.  Tell  Wash  to  look  out.  I  have  had  three  bad  dreams 
about  him.  Have  the  turnips  and  the  rye  and  the  red  clo- 
ver all  sowed.  Save  the  pea-vines.  Take  good  care  of  Mis- 
souri and  her  calf.  Tell  pa  I  hated  to  leave  him  but  felt  it 
my  duty  to  do  my  work.  I  am  persuaded  I  did  right. 
There  are  important  interests  to  be  provided  for,  and  I  am 
relied  on  to  take  care  of  them.  I  think  he  will  live  for 
months,  perhaps  a  year  or  two.  If  not,  all  will  be  well  any- 
how. The  Lord  bless  you,  my  dear,  a  thousand-fold  in  tem- 
poral and  spiritual  things.  Your  prudence  and  thrift  have 
saved  me  from  many  cares  when  at  home  and  when  faraway. 
Your  husband  trusts  in  you.  I  shall  not  write  you  again  for 
ten  days  I  reckon.  Hope  to  find  letters  here  when  I  return, 
Monday  week.  In  the  meantime  the  Lord  take  care  of  us 
and  bless  us.     Love  to  the  tribe." 

"Cnoc  taw  Nation.  DOUBLE  Si-rings, 
"  September  13,  1879. 

L  CLAUDE:    It  is  night.     The  Conference  busi- 
ness i>  all  over  except  reading  out  the  appointments.     I  am 

weary  but  well.  Have  improved  in  health,  voice,  and  strength. 
If  I  could  only  put  some  flesh  on  my  bones  I  would  be  myself 
again.  The  Lord  has  been  kind,  provident,  and  good  to  me 
and  Walter.  We  are  living  very  rudely  at  present.  We  are 
in  the  woods,  amid  Indians,  half  breeds,  and  a  sprinkling  of 
whites.  Some  say  there  arc  two  thousand  people  present. 
Waldron  would  go  beside  himself  with  the  sight  of  horses, 
ponies,  mules,  dogs,  Indians — big  and  little.  Walter,  I  think, 
has  forgotten  the  tenth  commandment  in  his  desire  for  a 
pony.  He  has  ridden  one  or  two  and  is  ready  to  mount 
them  all.  He  would  try  two  at  a  time  rather  than  miss  a 
ride. 

"  We  arc  having  a  good  time — several  conversions.  One 
or  more  at  every  service.  We  have  had  one  stormy  night — 
heavy  wind  and  rain.  Some  funny  doings  took  place.  I  will 
tell  you  face  to  face — too  tedious  to  write.     Walter  and  I  are 


1878-1884.]         ufe  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  643 

honored  with  a  mattress.  The  rest  are  sleeping  on  their 
blankets.  My  improvement  under  the  circumstances  is  a  re- 
markable providence.  I  preached  yesterday  through  an  in- 
terpreter. I  am  to  preach  to-morrow,  D.  V.,  without  one. 
Three-fourths  of  the  crowd,  they  say,  can  understand  me.  I 
am  begged  to  preach  day  and  night.  I  have  appointments 
for  Monday,  Tuesday,  and  Wednesday.  The  next  day  I  go 
to  St.  Louis  and  will  rest  till  Sunday,  and  have  promised  to 
preach  once.  The  Tuesday  following  I  go  to  Fredericktown 
for  Conference." 

The  Conference  was  held  at  a  camp-meeting,  and  he  says  : 

"  The  camp-meeting  closed  in  old  style  on  Monday  morn- 
ing. I  had  an  appointment  fifteen  miles  distant  in  Hackett 
City. 

"  We  arrived  in  good  time,  had  a  large  congregation,  and 
a  most  refreshing  time.     Verily  it  was  good  to  be  there. 

"  This  county  is  largely  settled  by  Georgians.  They  knew 
me  in  other  days,  so  I  could  not  resist  these  opportunities  to 
preach  to  them  again. 

"The  congregation  was  large  and  attentive,  the  service 
spiritual  and  profitable." 

From  thence  to  Fredericktown,  Mo.,  where  he  held  the 
St.  Louis  Conference,  and  of  which  he  writes  : 

"  Neither  preachers  nor  laymen  said  a  word  to  me  before 
or  during  the  session  about  an  appointment.  I  had  no  com- 
plaints nor  petitions.     Go  thou  do  likewise." 

Surely  this  was  work  enough  for  a  sick  man,  but  the 
hardest  part  of  the  work  was  yet  to  be  done.  He  returned 
home,  and  in  November  went  to  Arkansas.  The  dear  old 
doctor  was  at  his  house.  For  years  he  had  been  very  feeble, 
but  he  was  strangely  preserved.  The  thread  which  held 
him  to  earth  was  almost  worn  in  two.  No  one  expected 
when  the  bishop  left  him  that  he  would  see  him  again  ;  he 
hardly  thought  so  himself,  but  he  recognized  the  call  of  the 
Church  of  God,  as  of  God  himself,  and  he  went  on  his  way. 
In  November,  1879,  while  the  bishop  was  in  Arkansas,  the 


644  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.       [Chap.  XXI 

dear  old  man  fell  on  sleep,  and  at  ninety-four  years  was 
gathered  to  his  rest.  The  news  reached  the  son  in  Arkansas, 
and  he  writes  to  Ella  from  the  Hot  Springs  : 

"  Hot  Springs,  Ark.,  November  21,  1879. 

"My  Dear  Ella:  You  have  heard  from  me  through 
your  mother  and  Doc,  I  presume.  But  a  letter  direct  to  any 
one  is  more  satisfactory.     '  So  here  goes.' 

"  Well,  I  am  at  the  Hot  Springs  of  Arkansas.  The  most 
marvellous  place  I  ever  saw.  I  will  give  you  an  account 
when  we  meet.     Too  tedious  to  write. 

"  I  have  been  away  seventeen  days.  It  seems  months 
already.  Twenty-seven  days  more  ere  I  return.  Since  I 
left,  a  great  change  has  taken  place.  The  thought  that  I 
shall  sec  my  dear  old  father  no  more  (in  the  flesh)  is  a  sad 
one.  Vet  I  cannot  mourn  his  death.  Life  had  no  interest  to 
him.  He  was  growing  more  and  more  dependent,  and  child- 
like in  his  wants  and  fear-;.  He  rests  at  last.  Sorry  I  was 
away.  I  thought  he  would  last  till  my  return.  God  has  or- 
dered otherwise.      His  will  is  right. 

a  cold  in  my  head,  I  am  very  well.  Stand  my 
Work  finely.  Travel  is  hard,  and  a  heap  of  it.  I  have  a  most 
pleasant  home  here.  Everything  thing  suits  me  except  that 
I  hive  a  stove  instead  of  a  fireplace.  Write  to  me  at  Jackson- 
port.  Love  to  all.'' 

•   Hoi  Springs,  Ark.,  November  21,  1879. 

"MY  DEAR  Ethel:  Grandfather  is  sitting  in  a  nice 
room  ;  there  are  no  children  about,  no  noise  and  all  is  quiet. 
I  wish  you  were  in  my  lap,  your  little  arms  around  my  neck, 
and  your  sweet  eyes  shining  with  love.  But  this  cannot  be. 
We  are  too  far  apart.  I  must  wait.  Come  down  to  the  rail- 
road on  Thursday.  If  I  am  not  on  the  train,  then  come  next 
day.      Maybe  I  will  have  something  for  you. 

"  I  went  up  yesterday  to  that  Smoking  Spring  and  took  a 
bath.  I  tell  you  it  takes  off  the  dirt  and  dead  skin.  Wish 
you  had  one  at  old  Sunshine.     I  would  come  and  live  right 


1878-1884.]         ]jfe  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  645 

by  it.  This  is  a  wonderful  place,  with  its  mountains  and 
rocks  and  springs.  But  I  had  rather  see  you,  hear  you  talk, 
and  feel  like  you  loved  me,  than  to  look  on  all  these  wonders. 
You  must  come  up  and  stay  with  me  Christmas.  Let  us  play 
and  have  a  good  time.  Will  you  come?  Ask  mother  if 
you  may. 

"  Kiss  mother  for  me,  and  tell  her  to  give  you  a  sweet 
kiss  for  me." 

He  was  getting  to  be  an  old  man,  and  he  was  a  feeble 
one  ;  but  he  did  not  feel  so,  nor  to  us  who  knew  him  so  well, 
seem  so.  He  was  as  bright  as  sunshine.  He  would  preach 
often,  but  was  much  more  prudent  than  he  had  been.  He 
remained  at  the  home  in  Sparta  and  preached  in  the  village, 
or  went  on  short  visits  to  the  churches  round  about,  until  the 
May  meetings.  Bishop  Doggett  was  dead,  Bishop  Wightman 
was  very  sick,  and  the  burden  fell  on  him  and  he  bore  it.  He 
did  not  suffer  any  pain,  but  his  strength  diminished  day  by 
day.  It  was  needful  that  he  should  go  on  his  tour,  and  he 
started  on  his  tour  in  September.  He  reached  the  centre  of 
Texas  and  wrote 

To  his  Granddaughter  Claude. 

"  Corsicana,  Tex.,  November  2,  1880. 

"  Of  all  the  grandchildren  only  Ethel  is  ahead  of  you.  I 
shall  be  happy  to  hear  from  you  again. 

"  Do  you  know  that  you  will  soon  be  a  young  lady  ? 
And  especially  do  you  know  that  the  habits  you  form  now 
will  cling  to  you  through  life  ?  Well,  it  is  so.  Hence  the 
importance  of  beginning  right.  Life  is  made  up  largely  of 
little  things,  yet  great  results  follow.  You  must  learn  to  be 
neat  in  your  person  and  dress,  orderly  in  all  your  ways.  Do 
everything  promptly — do  not  put  off  on  any  pretext.  Be  at- 
tentive, punctual,  regular.  A  slovenly,  slipshod  woman  is  an 
abomination.  Learn  to  take  care  of  your  things.  Cultivate 
the  power  of  attention.     Do  not  forget,  anything.     Strive  to 


G46  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.        [C,IAP- XXT- 

be  handy,  expert,  graceful,  about  all  you  do.  Resolve  to  be 
independent ;  wait  on  yourself.  Study  economy  and  accus- 
tom yourself  to  plan  and  shift  and  do  for  yourself.  Do  not 
wait  for  mother  or  anybody  to  help  you.  Be  self-reliant — 
equal  to  every  emergency.  All  this  will  require  effort,  prac- 
tice, time,  and  patience.  Try,  and  keep  trying.  Never 
give  up.  I  want  you  to  go  to  college.  You  must  study  and 
get  ready.  You  are  not  reading  the  right  kind  of  books; 
you  are  forming  a  bad  taste.  Very  few  novels  are  worth 
reading.  Drop  them,  and  take  up  books  from  which  you 
may  learn  something — histories,  biographies,  and  so  on. 
You  have  a  talent  for  writing  if  you  will  store  your  mind 
with  ii.lc.is.  I  wish  you  to  grow  up  a  sensible,  elegant 
woman,  not  a  giddy,  dressy,  light-brained,  frivolous  girl, 
who  knows  nothing  but  to  dress  and  giggle  and  flirt  with 
men  as  silly  as  herself.  Think  over  all  these  things.  And 
now,  above  all  things,  try  to  be  religious.  Fear  God  and 
love  him,  and  keep  his  commandments.  Do  not  be  persuaded 
out  of  your  convictions  of  right.      X  into  do  wrong. 

Keep  a  clean   conscience,  a   pure   heart,  a   holy   life.      God 
>u   in    all  things.      Love   to   mother  and   all.      Write 
again." 

He   went  to   the   German    Conference  and   presided,  and 
writes  to  Ella  from  there  : 

••  Fredericks  .  Tex.,  October  21,  1880. 
"  Considering  how  much  I  love  you  all,  I  have  been  vexed 
with  you  all  because  not  one  wrote  to  me  at  Luling.  To-day 
a  letter  was  forwarded  to  me  from  Luling  ;  it  was  from  Doc. 
I  was  glad  to  hear,  though  the  letter  was  dated  the  10th  in- 
stant. That  is  my  last  news  from  home.  Suppose  I  shall 
not  hear  again  till  I  get  to  Waco,  the  10th  of  November. 
Well,  I  am  up  here  in  the  mountains.  Had  a  hard  ride — 
rocky  road,  poor  hack,  narrow  seat,  thin  cushion,  travelled 
all  night,  air  very  cold,  and  no  chance  to  sleep.  Did  nod, 
but  the  jolting  woke  me.     Got  here  before  day.     Last  night 


1878-1884.]         Life  and  Jimes  of  George  F.  Pierce,  647 

I  slept.  To-day  I  am  bright  ;  feel  well — first  rate.  My  voice 
is  better,  but  throat  still  troubles  me. 

"  The  air  up  here  is  pure  and  dry,  the  weather  charming. 
I  think  I  shall  improve.  If  I  do,  I  shall  remain  a  few  days 
after  Conference.  This  is  a  small  body.  I  could  get  through 
to-morrow,  but  will  drag  along  till  Monday.  Sunday  belongs 
to  Conference  anyhow.  I  am  very  kindly  entertained  by  an 
American  family.  Some  things  do  not  suit  me,  but  I  never 
complain,  you  know.  The  fare  is  good,  and  I  can  sleep  any- 
where, anyhow,  if  I  am  not  jolted  up.  I  trust  Ethel  got  her 
letter — bless  her  little  soul.  I  wrote  her  a  long  letter  from 
Fort  Gibson.  It  was  an  answer  to  you  and  her  both.  Most- 
ly to  her.     This  is  to  you. 

"  On  the  whole  I  have  made  my  way  along  very  pleas- 
antly. The  preachers  and  people  have  been  very  kind  to  me. 
Their  confidence  and  love  make  me  feel  my  responsibility. 
God  help  me  to  do  my  duty.  Write  often.  Tell  me  every- 
thing.    Kiss  all  the  children.     God  bless  you  and  yours." 

He  returned  from  Texas  in  time  to  preside  over  the  South 
Georgia  Conference,  which  met  at  Hawkinsville  early  in 
December. 

He  had  been  connected  with  this  Conference,  over  which 
he  presided,  for  quite  fifty  years,  and  there  was  not  a  man  in 
active  work  in  it  who  had  not  entered  it  since  he  began  his 
ministry.  The  members  of  the  body  realized  the  fact  that 
their  dear  bishop  was  not  long  for  them,  and  were  as  tender 
and  considerate  as  they  could  be.  I  remember  well  the  clos- 
ing scene  in  the  Conference.  He  had  made  the  appoint- 
ments, some  of  them  he  knew  would  be  painful.  He  said  to 
his  brethren,  after  telling  them  of  how  carefully  and  prayer- 
fully they  had  been  made:  "After  all  the  work  was  done, 
and  my' brethren  had  left  me,  I  got  down  on  my  knees  and 
laid  them  before  the  Lord,  and  the  glow  of  his  approval  came 
into  my  heart,  as  I  felt  the  work  was  his."  It  is  needless  to 
say  that  not  a  man  flinched  or  failed  to  take  his  place,  how- 
ever hard. 


G48  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.       [Chap.  xxi. 

They  were  delayed  in  reaching  Brunswick  and  were  com- 
pelled to  spend  a  day  in  Fernandina,  Fla.  When  they 
reached  the  railroad  station,  twenty-eight  miles  from  Ocala, 
they  were  met  by  Dr.  De  Pass,  and  started  in  a  buggy.  The 
buggy  broke  down,  and  they  only  reached  their  resting  place 
after  midnight.  It  was  a  cold  night,  in  December,  but  this 
feeble,  suffering  man  refused  to  rest.  He  must  be  at  the 
Conference  at  its  opening,  and  they  started  at  one  o'clock  at 
night,  and  by  sunrise  were  in  Ocala. 

He  returned  to  Sparta  after  the  Florida  Conference  ad- 
journed. I  Ie  made  a  brave  struggle  for  recovery,  and  submitted 
to  what  was  to  him  a  self-denial  of  the  severest  kind — inactivity 
and  silence.  He  remained  at  home,  or  went  to  Atlanta  to 
sec  Dr.  Calhoun,  ami  preached  occasionally  in  Sparta,  or  in 
one  of  the  country  churches  near  by.  He  was  deeply  con- 
cerned for  Emory  College,  ami  had  succeeded  in  finishing 
the  buildings  needful  for  her  efficient  working.  He  needed 
help,  and  among  tho<e  who  gave  it  cheerfully  and  liberally 
was  R.  B.  Reppard,  Esq.,  of  Savannah,  Ga.  At  that  time 
Mr.  Reppard  was  a  prosperous  lumber  merchant  of  large 
means.  He  gave  the  college  some  very  liberal  gifts.  The 
bishop's  correspondence  with  him  goes  over  some  length  of 
time,  and  shows  how  he  was  concerned  about  the  college. 
He  had  formed  a  little  circle,  consisting  of  Reppard,  Corley, 
and  himself,  who  had  covenanted  to  pray  daily  for  the  col- 
lege. These  letters  show  the  untiring  solicitude  and  care  he 
showed  for  the  college.  Few  things  annoyed  him  more  than 
financiering.  To  borrow  money  to  protect  paper  is  never  a 
pleasant  business  to  a  man  of  limited  resources,  and  he  had 
burdens  enough  of  his  own;  but  he  had  not  only  to  attend 
to  his  own  finances,  but  to  see  after  those  of  this  struggling 
institution. 

During  the  summer  he  was  busy  trying  to  recruit  his 
strength,  and  presiding  over  District  Conferences  near  home. 
II is  presidency  of  a  District  Conference  was  a  great  blessing. 
He  had  no  committees  but  one.  He  paid  much  more  atten- 
tion to  the  spiritual  interests  of  the  church  than  to  its  temporal. 


1878-1884.]         Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  649 

He  would  often  inject  burning,  earnest  words  into  the  dis- 
cussions as  they  were  going  on,  correcting  errors,  speaking 
words  of  good  cheer,  or  perhaps  of  stern  rebuke.  He  was 
very  easy  and  familiar  with  the  plain  laymen,  who  formed 
the  bulk  of  the  membership.  He  preached  every  day  while 
he  was  able,  and,  feeble  as  he  was,  was  always  at  his  place 
at  the  preaching  service.  His  humor  was  always  ready,  and 
he  often  made  dark  things  bright  by  its  sparkle.  At  one  of 
the  Conferences  a  young  brother  gave  a  doleful  account  of 
his  work.  He  had  a  piny-woods  circuit.  He  had  no  home, 
he  had  walked  his  circuit,  sometimes  wading  knee-deep  in 
water.  He  had  travelled  six  months,  and  received  up  to 
that  time  fifteen  dollars  in  all.  The  Conference  was  very 
sympathetic,  and  so  was  the  bishop,  but  he  could  not  repress 
his  humor.  "  Well,  my  brother,"  he  said,  "let  me  caution 
you,  if  riches  increase,  set  not  your  heart  upon  them." 
One  day  I  said  to  him,  "  How  is  it  you  are  never  depressed  ? 
I  never  saw  a  shadow  on  your  face  ;  are  you  naturally  so 
buoyant?"  "No,"  he  said,  "I  am  prone  to  depression; 
when  I  was  young  I  used  to  have  very  dark  hours,  but  I  was 
satisfied  depression  was  of  the  devil,  and  resulted  from  sel- 
fishness, and  I  resolved  never  to  yield  to  it,  but  to  take 
God's  will,  as  expressed  in  his  providence,  as  my  will." 

His  sermons  at  these  Conferences  were  always  practical 
and  full  of  unction.  He  never  preached  without  tears  him- 
self, and  always  brought  tears  from  other  eyes.  In  illustrat- 
ing devotion  to  duty  and  urging  to  it,  he  told  at  one  of  these 
Conferences  this  incident :  That  at  one  time,  going  from  the 
West  to  the  East,  it  was  possible  by  an  all-night  ride  to 
spend  a  few  hours  at  Sunshine.  He  reached  home  in  the 
early  morning.  He  had  been  gone  several  weeks — he  was  to 
be  gone  several  more.  His  wife  at  last  heard  the  stage  rum- 
bling toward  the  gate  ;  heroic  as  she  was,  it  was  too  heavy  a 
tax  on  her  endurance,  and  she  burst  into  tears  and  threw 
herself  on  his  breast,  and  said,  "  Oh,  it  is  too  hard."  He 
kissed  her  tears  away,  and  went  on  his  journey.  "  I  had 
hardly,"  he  said  to  me,  "  reached  my  appointment,  when  I 


G50  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.       [Cuap.  xxl 

got  a  long  letter  from  her  begging  me  to  forgive  her  weak- 
ness." 

During  the  latter  part  of  the  summer  he  started   on  his 
tour,  which  led  him  again  to  the  West,  and  his  first  letter  is 

To  his   Wife, 

"  Nashville,  August  23,  1881. 
"  For  the  first  time,  I  believe,  I  am  writing  to  you  on  Sun- 
day. No  time  on  yesterday.  Well,  I  am  here  safe  and  well. 
Preached  to  a  crowd  to-day.  \l<n\  a  good  time.  Will  leave 
here  in  the  morning  at  half-past  one  o'clock.  .  .  .  Hope 
you  have  rallied  your  feelings  and  your  faith,  and  have  com- 
mitted me  and  yourself  to  the  Lord.  We  have  every  reason 
to  trust,  and  not  to  be  afraid.  God  has  taken  care  of  us  a 
long  time,  together  and  alone.  The  brethren  are  praying 
for  me.  I  hope  to  go  through,  do  good,  and  get  back  in 
good  time,  ready  tor  more  work.  Live  near  to  God.  Visit 
our  blessed  children.  Cherish  pleasant,  hopeful  thoughts. 
Do  not  allow  your  spirits  to  flag.     I  am  in  the  path  of  duty, 

and  that  is  always  safe.  I  shall  try  to  be  prudent.  Do  not 
mean  to  overwork.  Remember  that  I  love  you,  pray  for 
you,  and  am  greatly  concerned  to  see  you  comfortable  and 
happy.      Tray  for  me." 

To  Ella. 
'•  HOWARD,  KAN.,  September  8,  1881. 
"It  is  your  turn.  It  is  cool  up  here  and  raining.  My 
overcoat  comfortable.  Fire  would  be  agreeable,  but  the 
house  in  which  I  am  domiciled  has  no  fireplace.  The  stoves 
are  not  up.  The  summer  heats  I  judge  are  past  for  this  time. 
I  keep  wonderfully  we'll.  My  throat  is  better,  but  not  well. 
Eat  with  less  annoyance.  Hope  to  improve.  lam  looking 
for  a  letter  from  some  of  you  at  this  point.  Here  am  I  fif- 
teen hundred  miles  away  from  home.  Oh,  me  !  Getting  on 
rapidly  with  my  Conference  business.  Return  Monday  to 
Kansas  City,  on  my  way  to  Moberly,  Mo.  The  Lord  is  gra- 
cious to  me.  The  people  are  very  kind.  All  goes  well  with 
me.     So  I  trust  with  you  and  yours." 


1S78-1884.]         ufe  arui  Jimes  of  George  F.  Pierce.  651 

When  he  preached  St.  Louis  he  wrote  Ella  : 

"  St.  Louis,  September  21,  188 1. 

"  You  do  not  deserve  a  letter,  but  I  give  you  one.  Here 
am  I  in  clover — fine  house,  elegant  fare,  good  company, 
perched  on  high.  I  look  down  on  you  poor  country  crack- 
ers, Georgia  trash.  In  your  humble  house  and  shabby  furni- 
ture, and  doing  your  own  cooking,  without  wages  too,  you 
ought  to  feel  honored  to  get  a  letter  from  my  eyrie.  Don't 
get  proud.  Be  grateful  enough  to  answer  me.  What  was 
the  matter  with  old  Olive  ?  Well,  get  another.  Hear  you 
have  had  rain.  Start  the  ploughs  and  keep  them  going. 
Sow  rye,  sow  oats.  I  have  found  another  doctor  here  and 
have  set  him  to  work  on  my  throat.  The  lime  dust  of  the 
streets  is  bad  for  me.  I  don't  wish  to  fall  back,  so  I  mean 
to  go  to  him  every  day.  He  treats  me  just  like  Calhoun,  and 
says  the  same  things  about  my  case.  I  am  getting  on  well. 
Will  wind  up  here  on  Sunday  night  I  think.  Then  to  Spring- 
field, where  I  demand  a  letter.  I  came  here  expecting  a  pile, 
bat  not  a  line  from  anybody.     Too  bad. 

"  After  all  I  like  Sunshine  and  its  inhabitants  better  than 
all  the  pomp  and  luxury  of  St.  Louis.  Tell  my  precious  pet 
I  am  waiting  to  hear  from  her.  I  expect  to  reach  Atlanta 
by  the  26th  or  27th  of  October.  If  you  will  meet  me  then  I 
will  spend  a  day  and  take  you  home,  bearing  all  expenses. 
I  do  not  care  to  stop  and  will  go  right  in  home  if  you  prefer 
it.  Come  up  on  the  24th,  and  I'll  try  to  meet  you  on  Wed- 
nesday or  Thursday.  When  I  hear  from  you  on  this  point  I 
will  write  again.     Love  to  all." 

To  Ethel. 

"  St.  Louis,  September  17,  1881. 
"  Dear  Pet  :  I  am  here  in  a  great  city,  heap  bigger  than 
your  father's  plantation  and  all  the  way  to  Sparta.  Oh  the 
people,  the  people  !  You  never  saw  the  like.  Wish  you 
were  here  to  see  and  wonder.  But  you  must  wait  awhile. 
Would  like  to  have  you  with  me  all  the  time,  but  you  must 
go  to  school  first  and  learn  how  to  profit  by  travel.     Hope  to 


652  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.       [Char  xxi. 

hear  from  you  at  Muskogee.     Give  me  all  the  news.     Kiss 
old  Grand." 

He  went  to  the  Nation  and  wrote  to  Ethel : 

"New  Hope  Academy,  1881. 

"  I  am  here  in  the  midst  of  fifty  Indian  girls,  all  going  to 
school.  They  are  nice  clean  girls.  They  have  good  teachers 
and  behave  well.  All  of  them  came  up  and  shook  hands 
with  me.  Some  of  them  are  right  pretty.  I  have  an  Indian 
boy  with  me.  I  will  bring  him  to  see  you,  I  think.  He  is  a 
good  fellow,  is  going  to  preach.  His  name  is  George  Free- 
man. I  lis  father  is  a  Cherokee  and  his  mother  a  Creek.  She 
i-  dead. 

"  I  want  to  see  you  very  much.  I  am  hungry  for  a  kiss. 
I  lave  you  got  one  for  me  ?  I  shall  expect  it  and  a  hug  too. 
Get  ready. 

"  1  am  glad  you  arc  at  school.  Study  ami  learn  fast.  I 
wish  to  hear  you  read.  I  cannot  find  any  bead  slippers  for 
you  and  May.  Hut  I  have  a  nice  little  present  for  both. 
Did  Warren  get  his  bow  and  arrows  ?  Tell  him  to  be  careful. 
1  am  resting  here  to-day.  Be  good  and  pray  for  me.  Kiss 
grandmother  and  mother  for  me." 

As  he  wrote  Ethel,  he  took  the  Indian  boy  from  his 
prairie  home,  and  brought  him  to  Sunshine,  and  sent  him 
thence  to  Oxford  to  school  ;  but  the  deadly  foe  of  the  Indian 
taken  from  his  plains,  consumption,  fastened  upon  him  and 
the  bishop  found  that  George  must  die.  He  sent  him  back 
to  his  own  prairies,  and  there,  in  the  full  triumph  of  the  Gos- 
pel, the  Christian  Indian  went  to  Heaven.  A  little  later  he 
wrote  : 

To  his  Granddaughter,  Claude  Middlebrooks. 

"Caddo,  La.,  October  4,  1881. 

"  Sorry  to  hear  you  have  been  sick.     Trust  you  are  well 

in,  and  am  very  glad  you  are  at  Macon  and  in  College. 

Now  resolve  to  improve  your  time  and  chance.      Study  your 

books   closely.     Strive  to    understand  everything.     Do  not 


1878-18S4.]         ufe  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  653 

slight  any  lesson.  Learn  to  fix  your  mind  on  your  work. 
Cultivate  the  habit  of  attention.  You  must  acquire  the 
habit  of  thinking  consecutively.  It  will  take  time,  effort,  and 
patience.  Never  be  discouraged.  Keep  trying.  Never 
give  up.  You  must  now  learn  to  take  care  of  yourself.  Just 
mean  to  do  right,  and  stick  to  that.  Do  not  imitate  anybody. 
Be  yourself.  Be  independent  in  your  tastes,  sentiments,  and 
opinions.  Try  always  to  please  God.  Be  always  neat  and 
tidy  in  your  dress,  be  orderly  in  your  room.  Do  not  throw 
things  about.  Be  methodical,  keep  everything  in  its  place. 
A  careless  girl  will  make  a  slovenly  woman,  and  she  is  a 
nuisance  to  everybody.  You  have  by  nature  all  the  elements 
of  an  elegant  lady.  So  has  Clara.  I  want  you  both  to  do 
the  very  best  for  yourselves.  I  want  you  to  be  natural,  sim- 
ple, elegant.  Not  affected,  not  fashionable,  not  simpering, 
giggling,  and  foolish,  but  sensible,  refined,  full  of  knowledge 
and  grace,  human  and  divine.  Read  your  Bible  daily,  say 
your  prayers  regularly,  attend  all  the  means  of  grace.  Aim 
to  be  very  religious.  Do  not  seek  your  enjoyments  in  the 
world  but  in  the  service  of  Christ.  Improve  your  spare  mo- 
ments by  reading  good  books — books  that  will  learn  you 
something. 

"  I  wrote  Clara  ten  days  ago,  hope  she  got  the  letter.  I 
want  you  both  to  write  to  me  at  Dardanelle,  Ark  ,  right 
away.  Show  this  letter  to  her.  I  am  writing  to  both. 
When  you  write,  tell  me  everything." 

Then  to  his  daughter  : 

"  I  '  kill  two  birds  with  one  stone  '  this  time.  Received 
yours  at  Springfield.  If  you  conclude  to  come  to  Atlanta 
and  the  railroads  offer  any  accommodations  in  the  way  of 
rates,  bring  Dooly  if  she  wishes  to  come.  I  would  be  glad 
if  you  would  come  upon  the  22d.  Then  you  will  be  here 
Sunday,  Monday,  and  Tuesday,  to  see  and  look  around.  I 
think  I  will  reach  Atlanta  on  Tuesday  the  25th,  noon  or 
night,  and  would  like  to  go  home  on  Wednesday.  I  had 
rather  see  mother  than  the  show.     Nevertheless  I  can  spare  . 


654  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.        [Cii.vr.  xxi. 

a  day.  Let  me  hear  from  you  at  Dardanelle,  Ark.  Tell 
Warren  I  have  sent  him  and  Foster  a  bow  and  arrows  bought 
from  the  Seneca  Indians.  One  is  for  Warren  the  other  for 
Foster.  Tell  them  they  must  not  point  them  at  anybody. 
They  can  kill  robins  this  winter.  They  will  come  by  mail 
directed  to  the  Judge.  Am  comfortable  all  over,  within  and 
without.      Kiss  E.  and  M." 

"My  DEAR  Ethel  :  It  is  time  to  write  to  you  again.  I 
have  been  looking  for  a  letter  from  you.  Arc  you  too  busy 
to  write  to  me,  or  too  happy,  or  what  is  the  matter  ?  I  am 
waiting  to  hear  from  you.  1  lave  you  started  to  school  ?  How 
do  you  like  it  ?  Will  you  be  able  to  read  for  mc  when  I  get 
back.      I  hope  so. 

"  If  mother  meets  me  in  Atlanta,  I  want  you  to  come 
with  her,  if  you  can  leave  school.  I  long  to  see  you,  to  kiss 
you,  to  see  the  love  in  your  eyes,  and  to  have  you  in  my 
lap.  Before  you  get  this  I  will  be  among  the  Indians.  You 
must  write  t<>  mc  at  Dardanelle,  Ark.  There  I  will  write 
again.  Tell  mc  all  about  Warren  and  home,  about  Belle  and 
Nellie,  Cricket  and  her  calf.  Have  you  milk  and  butter 
enough  all  the  time  ?  Leave  some  for  me.  I  get  very  little 
milk  on  this  trip,  and  shall  need  a  heap  when  I  get  back. 
Who  is  cook,  now  that  old  Olive  is  gone  ?  Can  you  make  a 
biscuit  ?     You  must  help  mother  in  her  troubles. 

"  Well,  in  three  weeks  and  a  few  days,  I  hope  to  be  at 
home  again.  Will  stay  a  little  while  and  then  make  another 
long  trip.  Then,  if  the  Lord  will,  I  will  stay  at  home  for 
some  months.  Pray  for  mc  every  day.  God  bless  you  my 
little  darling.     Tell  grandmother  to  kiss  you  for  mc." 

"  Dardanelle,  October  21,  1881. 
•'  My  DEAR  Carrie  :  Your  bereavement  has  made  me 
sad,  not  on  little  Ella's  account  but  yours.  Death  is  always 
sad,  whoever  falls  or  whatever  the  circumstances.  The 
death  of  a  young  child,  rightly  considered,  the  least  so  of  all. 
While  here  the  child  was  sick,  now  it  is  well.     Here  it  suffered, 


1878-1884.]         ufe  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  655 

yonder  it  is  happy  forever.  Had  it  lived  who  can  tell  the 
sins  and  sorrows  it  might  have  fallen  into.  Now  safe  in 
Jesus'  arms,  bright,  beautiful,  blest.  Submit  to  the  will  of 
God.  The  Lord  gave  ;  the  Lord  took  away,  let  us  bless  his 
name.  You  feel  lonely  and  sorrowful  now,  but  the  time  will 
come  when  the  thought  that  you  have  a  child  in  Heaven  will 
make  you  happy.  Henceforth  heaven  will  be  nearer  and 
more  homelike.  Oh  J  if  we  can  all  get  there  we  shall  for- 
get all  the  trials  of  the  way.     The  Lord  sanctify  the  death  of 


BISHOP   A.  W.  WILSON,    D.  D. 

the  child-  to  the  piety  of  the  parents.     God  bless  you,  and 
Dick  and  Robert." 

Returning  home  he  went  to  the  South  Carolina  Confer- 
ence for  the  last  time.  It  held  its  session  in  Union.  He 
wrote  to  Ethel  a  short,  sweet  letter.    , 

"  Union,  December  14,  1881. 
"  DEAR  ETHEL  :  I  have  been  too  busy  to  write  to  you. 
Monday  night  while  you  were  fast  asleep  the  iron  horse,  car- 
ried me  close  by  you,  but  would  not  stop  for  me  to  kiss  you. 


G56  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.       [Cuap.  xxi. 

I  have  thought  of  you  day  and  night.  I  am  glad  you  are 
learning  so  fast.  They  tell  me  you  are  in  the  Second 
Reader.  Huzza  for  my  little  pet.  I  will  hug  you  hard  and 
kiss  you  often.  Pray  for  me.  Next  week  I  hope  to  see  you 
and  stay  with  you." 

The  General  Conference  of  1882  met  in  Nashville  in  May, 
and  after  an  uneventful  session  adjourned,  having  elected  five 
new  bishops.  They  were  men  after  his  own  heart  :  Dr.  Wil- 
son, Dr.  Granbery,  Dr.  Haygood,  Dr.  Hargrove,  and  Dr.  Par- 
ker. Dr.  Haygood  felt  impelled,  by  his  convictions  of  duty, 
to  decline  the  office  tendered  him,  as  he  was  not  ordained. 
The  whole  college  was  disposed  to  spare  Bishop  Pierce  all 
the  labor  possible,  and  gave  him  the  easiest  work.  lie  went 
for  the  last  time  to  Virginia,  to  the  Conference  which  met  in 
Petersburg,  and  presided  over  the  North  Georgia,  which  met 
m  La  Grange,  and  the  Alabama,  which  met  in  Troy. 

The  North  Georgia  Conference  met  in  La  Grange.  He 
presided,  as  always,  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  entire  body. 
The  North  Georgia  Conference  always   welcomed   him    with 

it  heartiness.  He  knew  the  work,  the  work  knew  him, 
and  he  did  what  he  saw  best  without  question.  \Y.  A.Cand- 
ler was  stationed  in  Sparta,  where  he  lived  himself.  The 
people  were  delighted  with  him,  and  insisted  on  his  return. 
He  was  willing  to  go  back,  but  the  bishop  removed  him 
and  put  him  in  Augusta.  He  increased  the  number  of  the 
districts,  and  put  three  young  men  on  these,  and  did  it 
against  the  counsel  of  his  cabinet. 

He  believed  to  the  last  in  small  districts,  and  said  the  sur- 
est way  to  doom  the  office  of  presiding  elder  was  to  enlarge 
the  districts.  It  was  at  this  Conference  that  he  raised  five 
thousand  dollars  one  morning,  to  buy  the  lot  for  the  Anglo- 
Chinese  College  in  Shanghai.  He  was  not  well,  but  he  was 
in  excellent  spirits,  and  he  went  through  his  work  with  re- 
markable ease.  He  wrote  during  Conference  to  Ella  and 
Ethel. 


1878-1884.]  nfe  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce. 


657 


"La  Grange,  December  7,  1882. 

"  Yours  received.  Well,  here  I  am — mother  gone,  Con- 
ference gone,  the  day  dark,  wet,  cold,  gloomy — all  alone. 
Poor  me  ! 

"  We  have  had  a  magnificent  Conference.  I  have  scat- 
tered the  preachers  more  than  ever  before.  Not  a  whimper 
of  complaint  has  reached  my  ears.  Sparta  will  be  down  on 
me  I  reckon,  but  I  have  done  right  I  firmly  believe.  Tell 
them  all  to  wait  and  see.      Well,  I  hope  the  wheat  is  sown, 


BISHOP  J.    C.    GRANBERY,    D.D. 


the  oats  up,  and  other  work  going  on.  The  weather  is  so  bad, 
and  the  trip  so  long,  and  money  so  scarce,  I  have  declined  to 
come  home.  I  am  very  busy  besides  with  Church  matters. 
Some  of  you  write  to  Troy,  Ala.,  right  away.  Hope  mother 
is  at  home  safely.     Love  to  all." 

He  went  over  to  Troy,  Ala.,  and  presided  over  the 
Conference  session  and  then  returned  home.  His  friends 
could  see  he  was  not  better.  He  would  sometimes  rally,  and 
then  he  would  fall  back  again.  He  ate  with  much  difficulty. 
He  said  his  disease  seem  to  defy  all  classification.  It  did  not 
42 


658 


Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.       lCnAI'  XXI 


give  him  pain,  it  did  not  affect  sometimes  his  vocal  organs, 
and  then  sometimes  he  would  lose  his  voice  entirely,  and  then 
it  would  as  suddenly  return.  He  remained  closely  at  home, 
and  wrote  those  stirring  articles,  "  A  Revival  Needed,"  which 
were  among  the  best  of  his  life.  Despite  the  fact  that  they 
have  been  published  in  his  sermons  aiul  addresses,  and  scat- 
tered in  tract  form  through  the  country,  they  deserve,  and 
but  for  the  limit  I  have  given  myself  should  find,  a  place  in 
this  Memoir.      Nothing  more  powerful  ever    came  from  his 


I  isllop    HAKGKiiVE. 


pen,  and  nothing  more  important  was  ever  written  by  him. 
He  -pent  some  weeks  writing  the  articles.  They  are  really 
a  pastoral  theology  in  miniature.  He  remained  at  home 
right  closely  till  the  May  meeting,  when  he  went  to  Nash- 
ville. 

As  he  drew  near  the   end  the  brethren  realized  that   he 
must  so  id  vied  with  each  other  in  showing  the  depth 

and  tenderness  of  their  love.  He  would  not  rest.  His  friends 
offered  to  pay  all  charges  of  a  trip  to  Kurope,  but  he  refused 
it.     His  friend  Mr.  Phinizy,  who  owned  a  beautiful  watering- 


1878-1884.]         Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  659 

place  in  the  mountains,  offered  him  and  his  wife  free  enter- 
tainment as  long  as  he  wished  to  stay,  but  he  would  not  stop 
nor  rest. 

The  people  loved  to  hear  him  preach,  but  they  would  not 
insist  on  his  doing  it,  he  was  the  one  who  insisted  ;  but 
alas,  their  consideration  began  too  late.  When  rest  would 
have  done  him  good,  they  gave  him  none.  It  was  too  late 
now.  '  The  shadows  were  gathering,  all  could  see  that. 
Hope  was  against  hope.  It  was  growing  toward  the  sunset. 
We  knew  it,  and  wept  that  we  should  see  him  only  for  a  little 
while. 

I  have  some  letters  from  him  I  am  unable  to  locate. 

"  Hot  Springs,  1879. 

"My  Dear  Little  Ethel  :  Grandfather  thinks  of  you 
every  day,  prays  for  you,  and  longs  to  see  you.  You  must 
pray  for  me  too. 

"  Well,  I  am  at  the  strangest  place  I  ever  saw.  There  are 
fifty-four  springs  coming  out  of  the  side  of  a  mountain,  and 
the  water  smokes  like  an  engine.  You  would  think  the 
ground  was  on  fire.  All  sorts  of  sick  people  come  here  to 
drink  and  bathe,  and  get  well.  It  is  a  curious  place.  I  shall 
stay  here  two  or  three  days.  The  water  is  too  hot  for  me 
to  drink  much.  I  have  to  blow  it  and  sip  it  slowly.  I  am 
going  to  bathe  in  it  by  putting  some  cold  water  with  it. 
Then,  may  be,  I  will  write  to  you  again.     Now  I  must  stop. 

"Think  of  me.  Love  me  still,  and  get  ready  to  hug  and 
kiss  me  when  I  get  back.      God  bless  you. 

"  Your  loving  Grandfather." 

"  My  Dear  Ethel  :  I  promised  you  a  letter,  and  here  it 
is,  right  out  of  grandfather's  heart.  I  love  you  much,  think 
of  you  often,  and  pray  for  you  every  day.  Do  you  love  me  ? 
Do  you  pray  for  me  ?  I  hope  so.  The  Lord  hears  the 
prayers  of  a  little  child.  Have  you  been  up  to  see  grand- 
mother, and  to  take  care  of  her  ?  Let  me  know.  Tell  Annie 
I  have  not  forgotten  the  promise  I  made  her.  I  will  have  a 
very  pretty  pin  for  her,  and  she  will  be  even  with  you  and 


GGO 


Life  and  Tunes  of  George  F.  Pierce.       [Chap,  xxl 


Klla.    You  must  be  good  and  sweet,  and  have  a  heap  of  hugs 

and   kisses  for  me  when  I  come.      God  bless  my  little   dar- 

ling." 

"  PRESCOTT,  Ark.,   November  26,   1879. 

"  My  Dear  ETHEL  :  I  get  all  your  letters  with  a  glad 
heart.  I  am  happy  to  know  that  my  swtet  little  pet  thinks 
of  me,  and  wishes  to  see  me.     Grandfather  carries  you  all 


about  in  his  heart  all  the  time.  I  talk  about  you,  too,  and 
tell  the  people  what  a  loving  child  you  arc.  At  the  house 
where  I  am  staying  there  is  a  little  cjirl  named  Ethel ;  every 
time  they  call  "her,  I  think  of  my  little  Ethel. 

"  Well,  I  expected  to  be  at  home  to-day;  but  here  I  am 
in  Arkansas,  far,  far  away  from  you  all.  It  is  very  cold.  We 
have  snow,  sleet,  and  rain.  And  oh  !  the  mud,  the  mud  !  If 
you  were  with  me  I  should  have  to  shut  you  up  in  my  room. 


C.  W.  SMITH,  D.D. 


1878-1884]  ufe  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  661 

You  would  mire  down.  The  mud  would  pull  your  shoes  off, 
and  then  you  would  cry,  and  '  holler  '  for  grandfather,  I  sus- 
pect." 

"My  Dear  Ethel:  You  ought  to  have  made  sister 
write  you  a  letter  for  me.  It  is  too  late  now  ;  grandfather 
will  be  at  home  next  week.  Will  you  be  glad  to  see  me  ? 
Will  you  hug  me,  and  kiss  me,  and  tell  me  how  much  you 
love  me  ?  Take  good  care  of  grandmother;  don't  kick  her 
out  of  bed,  but  be  still  and  sweet.  Be  good  and  pray  for 
me.  Ask  the  Lord  to  bless  us  all,  and  bring  me  back  to  see 
you.  If  he  can  find  anything,  grandfather  will  bring  you 
something  because  you  love  him.  The  Lord  bless  you,  and 
make  you  good  and  happy." 

He  made  a  brave  struggle  for  recovery.  Indomitable  in 
will  he  still  made  an  earnest  effort  to  meet  his  engagements 
at  the  District  Conferences.  He  presided  even  when  he  did 
not  preach,  but  as  soon  as  they  closed  he  hurried  to  his  home 
in  Sparta. 

His  district  included  the  Indian  Mission,  the  Tennessee, 
the  North  Georgia,  and  the  Alabama.  The  Indian  Mission 
Conference  was  very  dear  to  him.  He  had  often  presided 
over  it,  and  was  always  solicitous  for  its  welfare.  At  his  re- 
quest it  was  given  to  him  again. 

When  he  was  in  the  Nation  the  year  before,  he  had  pro- 
jected some  plans  and  was  anxious  to  carry  them  out.  He  had 
sent  the  Rev.  E.  A.  Gray  to  the  Choctaw  School  at  New 
Hope,  and  with  him  a  new  corps  of  teachers,  and  among  them 
two  of  his  own  grandchildren.  A  new  church  was  needed 
at  New  Hope,  and  he  promised  to  raise  the  money  for  it. 

At  the  Falls  he  received  the  sad  news  from  home  that 
Lovick,  his  little  grandson,  was  dead.  He  wrote  at  once  to 
his  son. 

"  Webber's  Falls,  September  21,-1883. 

"  My  Dear  Son  :  God  bless  and  comfort  you.  Your 
letter  announcing  Lovick's  death  has  saddened  me  deeply. 


662  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.        [Chap.  xxi. 

Oh,  how  many  precious  hopes  have  gone  down  to  the  grave 
with  him.  I  had  many  bright  expectations,  of  his  future. 
The  shadow  of  death  has  extinguished  them  all.  However 
dark  this  event  and  heavy  this  sorrow  to  us,  it  is  well  with 
him.  Heaven  grows  more  homelike  as  the  family  gather 
there.  He  cannot  return  to  us,  but  we  can  go  to  him. 
Blessed  assurance.  How  strange  that  death  has  never  en- 
tered my  family  except  in  my  absence.  This  fact  presses 
me  heavily  sometimes  on  leaving  home.  My  presence,  1 
know,  h  no  protection,  but  the  thought  that  some  of  my 
dear  ones  I  shall  perhaps  see  no  more  makes  me  sad.  I 
do  not  distrust  nor  complain,  yet  I  fear.  His  ways  are 
perfect.  Let  us  bow  to  the  will  divine.  He 
knows  what  he  has  done,  and  why.  We  shall  know  here- 
after. Let  us  wait  in  trust  and  ho]  wed  that  all  will  end 
in  our  own  satisfaction.  May  grace  abound  to  you  and  Sal- 
lie  and  the  children.  Tell  Sallie  she  has  my  love,  sympathy, 
and  pray  rs.  <  iod  bless  you  all.  I  keep  pretty  well.  My 
throat  i>  troubli  '  the  table.  Am  able  for  all  my  work. 
I  am  very  comfortably  fixed  for  this  country.  Would  finish 
to-morrow,  but  Drs.  AfcFerrin  and  Kelly  and  Morton  and 
oth  :i  late  this  evening.  They  will  consume  a  session- 
Thomas  is  delighted — is  willing  to  stay  I  hear.  His  preach- 
takes  wonderfully.  I  write  again.  Report  to  mother. 
Love  to  all.     Grace  and  peace  be  yours  evermore." 

To  Ella. 
"New  Hope  ACAD!  MY,  September  24,  1SS3. 
"  As  the  saying  goes,  I  drop  you  a  line.  My  trip  has 
been  pleasant  save  the  dust.  It  is  dry  from  your  gate  to 
Webber's  Falls  and  beyond,  as  far  as  I  have  heard.  So  it 
continues.  The  signs  are  dry,  dry.  The  ride  home  promises 
to  be  like  the  one  out  here.  I  might  have  been  at  home  to- 
day, but  thought  it  my  duty  to  look  after  this  school  and  my 
new  teachers  ;  also  to  preach  here  and  at  Fort  Smith.  If  I 
had  foreseen  the  weather,  I  should  have  come  home.  My 
throat  is  very  troublesome,  hoarse,  and  cough  in  eating  badly. 


1878-1884.]         Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  663 

Otherwise  I  am  very  well.  Hope  to  see  you  all  next  Wed- 
nesday evening.  I  am  anxious  to  hear  from  you.  Have 
sent  to  Fort  Smith  for  letters.  The  death  of  little  Lovick,  to 
me,  is  very  sad.  Mrs.  Thomas  writes  that  Walter  is  sick  too. 
This  makes  me  uneasy.  I  long  to  hear  from  home.  Trust 
that  you  have  all  written,  and  my  mind  will  be  relieved.  I 
was  very  busy  yesterday  with  my  minutes  and  appropria- 
tions.    Have  work  on  hand  to-day.      Love  to  all." 

"New  Hope,  September  28,  1883. 

"  My  Dear  Son  :  All  my  fatherly  and  Christian  heart  is 
stirred  in  your  behalf.  I  know  you  feel  your  bereavement 
deeply.  But  the  shock  is  over  and  your  sensibilities  will 
now  lull  into  a  quiet  grief.  This  will  abide.  The  brightness 
of  the  world  is  gone.  Life  will  never  have  the  same  interest 
to  you  again.  Yet  you  may  be  happy  in  God,  rejoice  in 
your  other  children,  and  be  thankful  for  them.  The  shadow 
of  a  great  sorrow  never  departs,  at  least  always  returns.  We 
cannot  expect  unbroken  sunshine.  We  have  had  a  goodly 
heritage.  God  has  been  good  to  us,  very  good.  Let  us 
trust  him  still.  May  his  grace  abound  to  you,  his  peace  fill 
your  soul.  I  am  out  of  order  with  my  throat,  feel  badly,  but 
preached  to  the  girls  and  a  few  outsiders  to-day.  We  had  a 
good  time.  I  was  happy,  spoke  easily,  and  with  good  im- 
pression. 

"  Start  home  on  Monday,  hope  to  arrive  Wednesday 
evening.  Preach  at  Fort  Smith,  Sunday,  D.  V.,  a  mission- 
ary sermon.     Love  to  Sallie  and  the  children." 

"  New  Hope,  1883. 
"Dear  Ethel:  Grandfather  is  so  tired  he  can  hardly 
sit  up,  but  he  promised  you  a  letter  and  you  must  have  it.  I 
have  been  a  thousand  miles  away  from  you,  have  seen  a  great 
many  things  to  tell  you  about  when  I  get  back.  I  am  here 
with  forty  Indian  girls  all  about  me.  Some  of  them  are  right 
pretty.  They  behave  well.  I  am  going  to  preach  to  them, 
and  persuade  them,  if  I  can,  to  love  Jesus.     They  are  very 


664  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.       [Chap.  xxi. 

shy,  afraid  of  strangers.  They  learn  well,  the  teachers  say. 
I  hope  you  have  not  missed  a  word  since  I  left,  head  in  all 
your  classes  and  will  have  one  hundred  in  everything  the 
next  circular.  I  sent  you  and  May  the  red  coral  necklaces. 
Mr.  Orr  was  to  bring  them  to  you. 

"  Little  Lovick's  death  has  made  me  very  sad.  You  see 
that  children  die  as  well  as  old  people.  Try  to  be  good  that 
you  will  always  be  ready. 

"  Wish  I  had  you  with  me.  I  long  to  see  you.  Pray -for 
me.     God  bless  you." 

Returning  he  went  to  the  Tennessee  Conference  at  Shelby- 
villc,  and  then  presided  over  the  North  Georgia,  at  Dalton. 
He  preached  at  this  Conference  and  with  old-time  fire  and 
fervor.  It  was  the  last  time  we  ever  heard  his  voice  at  a 
Conference  session.  From  1S30  to  1883.  for  over  fifty  years, 
he  had  been  a  chief  among  u>.  His  sun  had  never  known  a 
shadow  for  even  a  moment.  He  had  led  us  always,  and 
always  well.  Ktvnvn  by  all,  loved  by  all,  trusted  by  all,  his 
example  had  been  an  inspiration  and  a  benediction.  He 
had  never  been  accused  <»f  doing  a  doubtful  thing.  Always 
high-toned,  true-hearted,  brave,  tender,  while  we  felt  that 
we  could  not  hold  him  we  did  not  see  how  we  could  do 
without  him.  The  beautiful  face  was  wrinkled  and  pain-worn, 
the  grand  form  was  shrunken,  but  the  eye  still  flashed,  and 
the  brave,  loving  heart  was  braver  and  more  loving.  He  had 
some  painful  work  to  do,  but  he  did  it  as  gently  as  he  could. 
Sometimes  he  was  a  little  impatient,  but  his  smile  came  again 
in  a  moment. 

We  adjourned  late  at  night.  It  was  midnight  when  we 
took  the  cars.  Some  of  the  brethren  had  organized,  and  as 
was  known  against  his  wish,  a  Holiness  Association,  in 
Georgia.  The  men  who  entered  it  loved  him  well,  but  they 
believed  the  time  had  come  for  this  work  to  be  done,  and 
that  if  the  doctrine  of  the  second  blessing,  as  many  Methodists 
held  it,  was  rescued,  they  must  combine,  and  they  must  not 
let  him  stand  in  the  way.     They  were  good  men  and  true,  and 


1878-1884.]         Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  665 

he  loved  them  well.  He  called  the  president,  Rev.  A.  J. 
Jarrell,  to  him.  "  Joe,"  he  said,  "  as  you  know  I  feared  evil 
results  when  this  thing  was  first  done  ;  but  I  have  been  dis- 
appointed ;  it  has  done  good,  and,  as  far  as  I  can  see,  nothing 
but  good.  Stick  to  the  Church,  stick  to  the  text,  avoid  ex- 
travagance, avoid  fanaticism,  and  God  will  bless  you."  He 
came  by  home,  and  hurried  to  Eufaula,  in  Alabama.  There 
I  was  with  him,  and  for  the  last  time  heard  him  preach.  He 
was  as  well  as  usual,  and  fully  alive  to  his  work.  He  was,  for 
some  reason,  very  anxious  to  get  through  by  Monday  night. 
The  good  people  wanted  the  Conference  to  stay  longer,  but 
he  brought  it  to  an  end  by  an  early  hour  Monday  evening. 
It  became  needful  to  place  an  absent,  and  once  a  very  valua- 
ble man,  on  the  superannuated  list.  A  brother  said  :  "Bishop, 
he  has  nothing  ;  let  us  pass  around  the  baskets."  "  No,"  said 
the  bishop,  "  a  basket  collection  never  comes  to  anything. 
Who  will  give  me  ten  dollars?"  The  collection  was  soon 
taken,  and  was  a  handsome  one. 

I  had  heard  him  many  times,  but  I  think  he  never  was 
more  eloquent  than  that  Sunday  morning  as  he  spoke  on  the 
triumphs  of  the  Gospel.  He  was  no  pessimist  ;  Christ  should 
reign,  and  Christ  would  reign.  The  face  of  the  old  man 
shone  like  that  of  the  prophet  when  he  sang  of  the  triumph 
of  Zion  as  she  put  on  her  beautiful  garments.  The  Con- 
ference closed  Monday  night,  and  we  took  the  cars.  He  sat 
bolt  upright,  all  night,  and  we  reached  Macon  in  the  early 
morning.  Here  Carrie  Wilson,  his  granddaughter  lived,  and 
to  her  home  the  weary  man  went,  having  presided  over  his 
last  Conference,  the  Alabama,  at  Eufaula,  the  12th  of  De- 
cember, 1883,  nearly  thirty  years  after  his  election  in  1854, 
and  in  all  these  }Tears  he  had  never  missed  but  one  Confer- 
ence to  which  he  had  been  assigned. 

With  this  session  of  the  Alabama  Conference  his  work  as 
a  bishop  virtually  ended.  His  life  for  thirty  years  had  been 
one  of  unceasing  labor  and  anxiety.  He  had  never  lorded  it 
over  God's  heritage,  but  had  been  the  servant  of  all.  He 
loved  the  Church,  and  he  loved  the  preachers.     He  never 


GCG  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.       [Chap,  xxi. 

spared  himself,  nor  asked  for  a  service  from  others  he  would 
not  have  rendered.  He  knew  what  parliamentary  law  was  ; 
he  observed  its  main  features,  but  was  no  martinet.  He  was 
rapid  in  his  prosecution  of  business,  and  sometimes  good-nat- 
uredly shut  off  debate  by  saying,  "Well,  you  have  said 
enough  ;  we  will  put  the  question."  He  was  prayerful,  pains- 
taking, and  considerate  in  making  the  appointments.  Some- 
times, as  he  said,  his  Episcopal  backbone  was  sorely  tried,  but 
he  was  sufficiently  strong  for  all  the  demands  of  the  occasion. 
He  was  especially  tender  and  considerate  to  the  old  men,  and 
those  who  were  known  as  gum  logs.  He  was  by  no  means 
so  considerate  of  those  whose  soaring  ambition  asked  for 
consideration.  At  one  time  there  came  to  the  Georgia  Con- 
ference a  young  man  for  an  appointment.  He  was  consid- 
ered a  pro  ligy  of  eloquence,  and  cities  vied  with  each  other 
in  lavishing  honors  <>n  him.  He  was  to  have,  <>f  course,  one 
of  the  best  Stations  in  the  Conference,  or  at  least  be  a  second 
man  in  one  of  our  cities.  The  appointments  were  read  out, 
and  they  read  him  out  to  a  good  circuit  with  a  good  senior. 
The  circuit  was  a  far  better  one  than  the  one  Bishop  Pierce 
had  travelled  in  his  youth,  ami  gifted  as  the  young  man  was, 
he  never  approached  him  either  in  brilliance  or  power  or 
popularity.  Vet  I  have  heard  this  very  incident  alluded  to 
as  evidencing  the  bishop's  tyrannical  spirit.  He  sought  the 
young  man's  welfare,  and  only  that.  He  laid  heavier  burdens 
on  his  friends  than  on  any  others,  and  if  one  had  a  dislike  to 
him  he  was  especially  considerate  of  that  one.  There  were 
some  in  every  Conference  who  were  especially  dear  to  him, 
and  they  were  of  those  who  were  conservatives  of  old-time 
Methodism.  He  had  fine  taste  and  fine  culture,  but  he  cared 
far  less  for  culture  than  for  power.  He  disliked  everything 
that  looked  like  a  ritual,  and  was  heartily  glad  when  the  ef- 
fort to  introduce  the  liturgy  of  the  Church  of  England,  made 
in  1866,  came  to  such  a  speedy,  and  he  believed,  timely 
death.  Perhaps  no  man  ever  made  so  many  appointments, 
and  made  them  so  satisfactorily.  To  the  preachers'  wives 
he   was   especially   considerate.       "  We   have   lost   our   best 


1878-1884.]         Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  667 

friend,"  said  one,  with  tearful  eyes,  when  she  heard  of  his 
death.  She  was  the  wife  of  a  hard-working  circuit  preacher, 
who  had  known  him  for  thirty  years. 

When  John  Knight  was  superannuated  he  said  :  "  It  was 
best  that  he  should  retire,  but  he  must  not  go  empty-handed. 
He  has  a  little  farm,  but  it  is  not  stocked  or  furnished.  I 
want  two  hundred  dollars.  Here  is  ten  dollars."  And  at  an- 
other time  :  "Brother  R.  owes  a  heavy  debt;  it  distresses  him; 
let  us  help  him  ;  here  is  ten  dollars  ;  "  or,  "  Brother  L.  needs 
some  money,  let  us  all  give  him  a  lift.  All  of  you  give  him 
a  dollar  ;  here  is  mine."     Thus  the  man  lived  and  loved. 

He  wrote  many  sweet  letters  to  his  children  and  grand- 
children in  these  late  days,  and  I  give  here  a  little  collection 
of  letters  to  his  little  pet,  as  he  called  Ethel,  and  to  her 
mother,  which  I  could  not  exactly  locate,  but  which  I  am  not 
willing  to  leave  out. 

"  My  Darling  Pet  :  How  I  would  like  to  hug  you  and 
kiss  you  to-night.  But  I  am  too  far  off.  So  the  best  I  can 
do  is  to  think  of  you,  love  you,  and  write  to  you.  Mother 
will  read  this  to  you,  and  you  must  love  me  and  pray  for  me. 
I  think  of  you  and  the  rest  every  day.  I  hope  when  I  get 
back  I  will  be  fat  and  strong.  God  is  good  to  me,  and  I  pray 
him  to  bless  you,  and  make  you  good  and  happy.      In  love." 

"  Dear  Ethel  :  Bless  your  little  soul.  How  I  love  you. 
I  had  rather  kiss  you  now  than  eat  my  dinner.  But  I  am 
far  from  you  and  can  do  nothing  but  love  you  and  pray  for 
you.     It  will  be  a  long  time  before  grandfather  can  come  to 

see.     Bishop  W is  sick,  and  I  must  do  his  work  and  mine 

too.     I   am   very  well   and  very  busy  all  the  time.     Write 
again.     Kiss  May  for  me.     Tell  Warren  to  be  good." 

"  La  Grange,  December  7,  1882. 

"My  DEAR  Ethel:  Your  sweet  little  letter  has  been 

received.     I  thank  you  for  it.      It  is  very  pleasant  for  my  pet 

to  remember  me.     If  I  had  a  kiss  from  you  and  a  loving  hug 

I  would  feel  better  to-day.     We  are  far  apart,  but  we  can  love 


G68  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce,       [Obat.  xxi. 

one  another  all  the  same.  You  are  in  my  heart  and  in  my 
thoughts  all  the  time.  You  must  pray  for  my  health  and  safe 
return.      God  bless  you,  and  make  you  good  and  happy." 

"  Portsmouth,  November  17,  18S2. 
"My  DBAS  ETHEL:  I  do  wish  I  had  brought  you  with 
mc.  There  is  so  much  for  you  to  see.  You  would  be  happy 
in  the  family  I  am  staying  with.  The  man  says  I  ought  to 
have  brought  you  and  given  you  to  him.  He  has  three  boys 
but  no  girl.  Must  I  send  you  on  to  him  when  I  get  back  ? 
I  do  not  think  I  can  spare  you.  But  this  man  has  a  heap  of 
money  and  can  do  more  for  you  than  I.  You  must  let  me 
know  Boon.  Blesa  your  little  soul,  grandfather  would  not 
give  you  up  for  the  Queen  of  England — no,  no.  Pray  for  me 
as  I  do  for  you." 

"  May  6th. 

"MY  DEAR  ELLA:  This  is  your  birthday.  Well  do  I  re- 
member the  morning.  I  thought  you  were  the  sweetest, 
prettiest  child  in  the  world.  Afl  you  grew  and  began  to 
walk  and  to  talk  that  idea  grew  upon  mc.  To  tell  the 
truth,  I  have  not  changed  much  down  to  date.  You  were 
my  first  born,  and  have  always  been  a  source  of  pleasure  to 
me.  You  have  never  given  me  trouble  or  sorrow  by  anything 
said  or  done.  I  love  you  still  with  a  tenderness  and  depth 
which  you  can  hardly  realize.  If  I  had  my  way  you  should 
never  know  a  want  or  care  or  sorrow.  I  thank  God  that  you 
have  a  cheerful,  buoyant  spirit.  May  no  cloud  darken  your 
sky,  no  shadow  fall  upon  your  path.  May  your  children 
prove  to  you,  as  you  have  to  me — an  unalloyed  blessing. 
»u  all.     In  haste,  but  with  sincere  affection. 

"  This  was  written,  but  not  sent,  for  I  was  very  busy. 
Got  home  yesterday  evening.  Dr.  C still  sick  in  Au- 
gusta. I  send  a  little  box  of  candy  for  the  children.  Tell 
Ethel  I  have  a  present  for  her  when  she  comes  to  see  me." 

"  MY  DEAR  ETHEL  :  Your  sweet  little  note  has  been  re- 
ceived.    I  thank  you  for  your  love  and  your  letter.      Perhaps 


1878-1884.]         Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  669 

when  I  come  you  will  see  how  lovingly  I  think  of  you.  I 
want  to  do  something  for  you  all  the  time.  You  must  learn 
fast,  be  good,  and  try  to  be  useful.  Let  everybody  see  that 
you  are  a  Christian  by  what  you  say  and  do,  your  temper 
and  disposition.  I  am  busy  and  must  be  short.  Love  to 
all." 

"Atlanta,  July  13th. 

"  Dear  Ella  :  Why  don't  you  write  ?  We  are  anxious 
about  Ann.  Her  failure  is  a  great  disappointment  to  me.  I 
take  mother  to  Clarksville  to-morrow.  Next  day  I  go  to 
Athens.  Will  return  here  on  Monday.  Let  me  find  a  letter 
here,  with  all  the  news,  the  cows,  calves,  chickens— every- 
thing. Has  William  got  back  ?  Any  rain  ?  Fine  showers 
up   here,   general   round   about.      Hot,  hotter,  hottest.      Dr. 

C is  at  work  on  me.     Says  I  am  doing  first-rate.    Thinks 

I  will  get  well  now.  He  encourages  me  much.  I  am  better. 
Voice  greatly  improved  ;  eat  with  little  trouble.  Write  to 
me,  '  Atlanta,  Kimball  House.'  I  long  to  be  at  home,  but 
must  deny  myself.  Pray  for  my  restoration.  What  can  I  do 
for  any  of  you  ?  is  there  nothing  wanting  ?  Love  to  all. 
Tell  my  pet  to  ask  for  something.     Heaven  bless  you  all." 

"Nashville,  Tenn. ,  April  2d. 
"  DEAR  ETHEL:  I  at  least  can  send  you  a  birthday-letter. 
Ten  years  old !  How  smart  you  ought  to  be  ?  Ten  more, 
you  will  be  a  young  lady.  Think  of  that.  Now  is  the  time 
to  prepare  for  the  future.  Much  will  be  expected  of  you. 
You  have  a  good  chance  to  learn— to  improve  your  mind 
and  form  your  character,  and  get  ready  to  be  a  good,  useful, 
lovely  woman.  I  think  you  will.  I  have  high  hopes  of  you  ; 
you  have  made  a  good  start,  and  I  expect  you  to  grow 
smarter  and  better  all  the  time.     So  may  it  be." 

"  DEAR  ETHEL  :  I  want  to  see  you  so  bad,  to  kiss  you, 
look  into  your  eyes,  and  feel  your  arms  around  my  neck.  But 
I  must  wait.  Well,  here  I  am,  among  the  mountains.  They 
are  all  around  me,    Cedar  Mountain,    Blood  Mountain,  Bold 


G70  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce,       tCl,AP-  XXI 

Mountain, Yonah (which  means  'bear')  Mountain,  Stone  Pile, 
and  a  great  many  without  names.  This  morning  they  are  all 
wrapt  in  clouds.  It  has  been  raining.  The  clouds  are  rolling 
and  tumbling  like  smoke  out  of  an  engine.  Wish  you  were 
here  to  see  it  all.  You  never  saw  so  many  springs  in  all  your 
life  as  there  are  here.  All  sorts,  and  close  together  ;  some 
warm,  some  cold,  some  cold  as  ice.  Grandfather  is  not  much 
better  yet.  Hope  I  will  be.  Think  if  I  were  with  you  and 
the  rest,  I  would  do  better  than  up  here.  I  mean  to  come 
as  soon  as  I  can.  I  must  buy  you  a  picture,  I  reckon.  What 
must  I  bring  May,  and  Warren,  and  Mother?  I  send  you  a 
kiss  in  this  letter;   see  if  you  can  find  it." 

"My  Dear  Ethel:    Grandfather  thinks  of  his  little  pet 

uvc\y  day.      The  breast-pin  and  the  fan  will  both  come,  when 

m  t.     You  must  love  me  and  pray  for  me.     Grandfather 

prays  for  you  every  day.  I  want  you  to  be  sweet  and  good 
always.  When  I  get  back  you  must  come  up  and  stay  with 
me,  see  my  birds,  and  play  with  me.  I  want  to  sit  you  on 
my  lap,  and  hug  yuu  and  kiss  you  over  and  over.  Good- 
night." 

'•  N  ISHVILl  B,   Tinn..   May  8,    1S82. 

"DEAR  ETHEL:  Very  sorry  you  did  not  come  with  me. 
There  arc  so  many  things  to  interest  you.  I  miss  your  night 
and  morning  kiss.  Do  not  give  them  all  away  before  1 
back.  I  wish  to  bring  you  something;  tell  me  what.  Any 
strawberries  yet  ?  I  have  them  every  day.  Rich  milk,  good 
butter  ;  everthing  nice.  You  must  not  cat  all  the  bacon,  or 
you  will  have  nothing  for  me.  Nurse  the  chickens.  Make 
them  grow.  Take  good  care  of  grandmother.  Pray  for  me. 
Do  not  forget  me.  The  Lord  bless  my  darling.  Kiss  all  for 
me." 

"  DEAR  PET  :  I  trust  you  have  got  rid  of  your  chills  and 
quinine. 

"  Are  you  making  up  lost  time  at  school  ?  You  have  a 
fine  chance  to  climb,  as  you  went  foot  in  all  your  studies. 
Go  head  in  all  by  the  time   I  get   back.     You  can  do  it,  and 


%%> 


WM.   STEVENS,   ESQ. 


1878-1884.]  ufe  ana  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  671 

bring  your  next  circular  up  to  hundred  all  around  ;  I  want 
you  to  shine,  '  a  bright,  particular  star.'  I  must  say  good- 
night.     God  bless  you,  my  darling." 

"My  Dearest  Ethel:  You  do  not  know  how  I  want 
to  see  you — to  kiss  you — to  feel  your  little  arms  around  my 
neck  again.  Glad  to  hear  that  you  pray  for  me  every  night. 
Grandfather  thinks  of  you  every  day,  and  prays  for  you.  I 
will  tell  you  about  the  Indians  when  I  see  you.  Cousin 
Walter  has  seen  a  heap  of  things  to  tell  you  about.  You 
must  come  to  the  gate  next  Wednesday,  and  I  hope  to  throw 
you  something. 

"  My  Dear  Ethel  :  I  have  written  to  you  once — now 
again.  Grandfather  has  seen  a  great  deal  since  he  left  home. 
Yesterday,  at  Kansas  City,  I  went  to  the  Fair  Grounds,  and 
saw  some  hogs  as  big  as  Cricket  ;  some  beautiful  sheep, 
with  wool  as  fine  as  silk.  One  man  had  a  hundred  heifers 
for  sale,  and  expected  to  get  twenty  thousand  dollars  for 
them.  I  saw  all  sorts  of  machines,  ploughs,  and  buggies. 
I  thought  about  you,  and  wished  you  were  with  me  to  see 
and  wonder. 

"  I  have  a  nice  present  for  you  and  May  and  Edith  and 
Julia.  I  must  bring  Pauline  and  Ella  something.  Grand- 
father loves  you  all,  but  I  think  you  love  me  better  than  the 
rest  of  them.  There  is  a  nice  little  girl  here  named  Mary, 
and  is  just  your  age.  She  came  and  kissed  me  this  morning. 
You  must  continue  to  pray  for  me.  I  am  better,  and  I  want 
you  to  pray  that  I  may  get  entirely  well.  Tell  Warren  to 
keep  his  fine  clothes  for  Sunday.  You  must  take  good  care 
of  grandmother.  She  is  a  precious  old  body.  I  think  a 
heap  of  her.  Be  kind  to  her  all  the  time.  Kiss  all  around 
for  me,  and  write  as  often  as  you  can.  Be  sure  and  go  to 
school  when  the  buggy  comes.     God  bless  you." 

"  Red  Oak,  June  26th. 
"  My  Dear  Son:  You  are  getting  to  be  a  shabby  fel- 
low.    Why  don't  you  write  to  me  ?     If  I  do  not  get  a  letter 


G72  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.       IOhaf.  xxi. 

from  you  at  Little  Rock  I  shall  be  hurt.  I  hoped  to  hear 
from  you  ere  this,  and  now  Little  Rock  is  the  last  chance. 
Save  yourself  from  a  scold. 

"  I  am  hard  at  work,  'faint  yet  pursuing.'  Hard  travel, 
daily  preaching,  feather-beds,  are  telling  on  me  in  some  re- 
spects. My  health  is  good,  my  voice  holds  out,  but  I  am 
weary.  I  am  here  preaching  every  day  in  the  open  air  ; 
winds  are  high  and  cool  and  the  labor  of  speaking  is  great. 

"  It  is  my  purpose  to  be  at  home  this  day  two  weeks  if 
possible.  Fear  I  cannot  '  make  the  trip,'  but  will  do  my  best. 
This  is  the  hardest  year  of  my  life  I  believe.  But  the  Lord  is 
with  mc.  I  enjoy  religion,  and  my  efforts  to  do  good  seem 
to  be  blest.  We  had  a  time  of  power  at  Batesville.  Some 
conversions  here,  and  much  interest  in  the  Church.  I  leave 
here  to-morrow  for  Little  Rock  ;  take  the  stage  at  4  A.M. 
next  day  for  Camden.  I  dread  the  rough  and  tumble  ride  of 
thirty-two  hours.  From  Camden  I  go  to  El  Dorado;  you  re- 
member it,  I  suppose.  From  that  point  Sunshine  is  my 
ination.  Heaven  speed  me.  I  long  to  see  you  all.  I 
have  much  to  tell  you  about  this  country. 

"  Kiss  Sallie  and  my  little  darlings.      God  bless  you  all." 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

THE  CLOSING  DAY,  1884,  AGED  73. 

Golden  Wedding — Extracts  of  Speeches — Visit  to  Virginia — Letters — 
Last  Commencement — Sermon  at  Macon — Camp-meeting — Visit  to 
Thomson — Last  Hours. 

THE  day  on  earth  was  drawing  to  its  close,  but  there  was 
no  twilight.  It  was  sunshine  to  the  last.  He  had  been  mar- 
ried for  fifty  years  in  February,  1884,  and  at  the  earnest  in- 
stance of  his  friends  he  published  the  fact  that  it  would  be 
his  golden  wedding.  The  day  came,  and  the  spacious  home 
of  Lovick  Pierce,  Jr.,  in  Sparta,  was  thronged  with  guests. 
Dr.  Fitzgerald  who  was  present,  gives  a  pleasant  account 
of  the  unique  anniversary. 

"  Near  Sparta,  Sunshine,  the  residence  of  Bishop  Pierce, 
was  passed.  It  was  a  May-day  in  February.  The  south 
wind  blew  softly,  the  air  was  balmy,  and  the  place  seemed 
well-named.  The  house  is  an  old-fashioned  Southern  frame 
mansion,  the  roof  newly  shingled  in  places,  fronted  by  a 
grove  of  cedars,  a  garden,  and  a  modest-looking  peach-or- 
chard in  the  rear,  bounded  by  a  forest  of  small  pines.  This 
was  Sunshine — a  picture  invitingly  quiet  and  hospitable. 

"  At  the  depot  in  Sparta  the  editor  was  met  by  the 
bishop,  and  the  two  lively  dark  ponies  soon  whirled  him  up 
to  the  residence  of  his  son,  Lovick  Pierce,  Jr.,  where  the 
golden  wedding  was  to  take  place. 

"  The  guests  gathered  early,  filling  the  reception-rooms  by 
7.30  P.M.  The  spacious  double  parlors  were  elegantly  deco- 
rated ;  above  the  folding-doors  was  an  arch  of  beautiful  flow- 
ers, with  sprigs  of  mistletoe  in  bloom,  with  the  figure  of  a 
white  dove  pendant  with  outstretched  wings. 
43 


G7-4  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.      [Cujlv.  xxii. 

"  Among  the  guests  were  the  Rev.  Dr.  W.  H.  Potter,  and 
the  Rev.  John  W.  Burke,  of  the  Wesleyan  Advocate ;  the  Rev. 
W.  A.  Candler,  of  the  North  Georgia  Conference  ;  Colonel 
R.  D.  Walker  and  wife,  of  Savannah,  Ga.  ;  Ferdinand  Phin- 
izy,  Esq.,  of  Athens,  Ga.;  and  Mr.  Morton,  from  Virginia. 

"  Many  handsome  presents  from  all  quarters,  and  gold 


J.    W.    BURKK. 


coin  enough  to  jingle  pleasantly  in  the  Episcopal  pocket  for 
a  while  were  received.  Most  of  the  presents  were  tasteful 
and  elegant ;  of  the  coin  there  was  enough  to  show  thought- 
ful consideration  of  an  old  preacher's  convenience,  but  not 
enough  to  be  an  endowment  for  old  age. 

"  The  bishop  has  five  living  children  :  Mrs.  Ella  Caroline 
Turner  ;  Mrs.  Claudia  Snider  Middlebrooks ;  Mr.  Lovick 
Pierce,  the  only  son,  who   married   Miss  Sarah  C.   Turner  ; 


1S84-]  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  675 

Mrs.  Mary  Susan  Alfriend,  and  Mrs.  Anne  Toombs  Harley. 
There  are  thirty  living  grandchildren. 

"  At  8. 30  the  Bishop  entered  the  room  and  stood  under  the 
arch,  his  wife  leaning  on  his  arm.  He  looked  fresh  and  buoy- 
ant. Mrs.  Pierce,  dressed  with  unostentatious  elegance, 
looked  plump  and  radiant,  her  motherly  face  set  off  with  a 
tasteful,  snowy  French  muslin  cap,  reminding  you  of  earlier 
times. 

"  Dr.  Potter  congratulated  them.  '  All  classes  of  our  peo- 
ple join  in  these  congratulations,  and  delight  to  do  you 
honor.  They  recognize  your  fidelity  to  the  obligations  of 
citizenship.  You  have  been  true  to  your  State — when  she 
has  prospered,  you  have  rejoiced  with  her  ;  when  she  has 
suffered,  you  have  sorrowed  ;  Georgia  has  had  no  truer  son. 
You  have  been  true  to  your  Church,  holding  firmly  to  her 
standards,  and  exerting  your  personal  and  official  influence 
to  maintain  the  purity  of  her  doctrines  and  the  efficacy  of  her 
discipline.' 

"The  editor  of  the  Nashville  Christian  Advocate  next  ad- 
dressed the  pair : 

"  '  If  I  stood  before  you  on  that  joyful  night  fifty  years  ago 
when  there  was  a  flutter  of  orange  blossoms  in  the  beautiful 
city  of  Savannah  by  the  sea,  I  should  probably  have  ad- 
dressed you  as  Brother  and  Sister  Pierce  ;  but  now,  after  the 
lapse  of  half  a  century,  addressing  you,  sir,  as  the  Senior 
Bishop  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  South,  it  seems 
proper  that  I  should  address  you  as  our  Father  in  God,  and 
you,  madam,  as  our  Mother  in  Israel.  You  stand  in  the  cen- 
tre of  a  vast  circle  to-night — the  Pierces  and  collateral 
branches  of  kindred  first ;  then  old  Georgia  ;  then  the  Caro- 
linas,  Virginia,  Maryland,  on  the  one  side  ;  then  Alabama, 
Tennessee,  Kentucky,  on  and  on,  across  the  Mississippi,  be- 
yond the  Rocky  Mountains — from  the  Susquehanna  to  where 
the  waves  of  the  blue  Pacific  beat  upon  the  silvery  sands  by 
the  Golden  Gate.  Beyond  these  limits  the  concentric  cir- 
cles of  Christian  affection  still  widen  until  they  touch  your 
brethren  and  sisters  in  Mexico,  Brazil,  and  China.     Looking 


678  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.      [Chap,  xxn 

around  upon  this  joyous  company — these  gray-haired  friends 
of  your  earlier  days  ;  these  brethren  in  the  ministry  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  ;  this  manly  and  affectionate  son  ;  these 
daughters  in  the  ripeness  of  their  matronly  loveliness  ;  these 
grandchildren  in  the  sweetness  and  bloom  of  their  young  lives 
we  congratulate  you  upon  this  happy  and  hallowed  occa- 
sion. .  .  This  little  company  represent  a  million  of  men, 
women,  and  children,  whose  loving  remembrance  is  turned 
ou  this  day.  It  was  a  heroic  act  in  the  fair  and  gentle 
girl,  who,  fifty  years  ago,  was  willing  to  risk  her  fortunes  in 
life  with  those  of  a  Methodist  preacher;  the  result  has  vindi- 
cated her  heroism  as  it  has  your  judgment  and  taste.  Stand- 
ing here  in  the  midst  of  this  bright  and  joyous  circle,  in  name 
of  the  communion  to  which  we  belong,  and  a  vast  body  of 
your  fellow-citizens  in  all  puts  of  our  country,  I  congratulate 
von  that  yon  have  lived  to  celebrate  your  golden  wedding, 
invoking  upon  you  the  benedictions  of  the  Lord,  and  praying 
that  the  evening  and  sunset  of  your  lives  may  be  as  serene 
as  the   pa^t  has  been   faithful  to   duty  and   fruitful  of  blessing 

to  the  world.' 

"  The  bishop  said  :  '  We  thank  you  for  the  kind  and  pleas- 
ant things  you  h  I  to  us  ami  about  us.  We  accept  and 
rejoice  in  your  cordial  grectii: 

My  wife  deserves  all  the  commendations  you  have  be- 
ed  upon  her.      I  wish  I  could  say  as  much  for  myself.     I 
feel   like    Sp  who,  when    invited  to  visit  this   country 

declined,  saying,  "  I  know  honors  and  attention  will  be  lav- 
ished upon  me,  and  that  is  more  than  I  can  stand.  I  can 
bear  abuse,  but  the  kindness  of  friends  makes  me  so  sensible 
of  my  mi  worthiness  that  my  heart  goes  down  into  my  shoes." 

'•  '  My  wife  ^nd  I  have  led  very  simple,  unpretending  li 
but  1  suppose  we  are  the  central  figures  in  this  scene,  and  if 
in  responding  to  you  I  have  a  good  deal  to  say  of  ourselves, 
the  explanation  and  the  apology  will  be  found  in  the  circum- 
stances of  the  occasion. 

"  '  First  of  all,  let  me  in  this  presence,  in  grateful  recogni- 
tion of  the  providence  of  God,  acknowledge  that   goodness 


188i-]  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  677 

and  mercy  have  followed  us  all  the  days  of  our  life.  As  I 
have  been  a  travelling  preacher,  we  have  lived  all  over 
Georgia,  from  Savannah  on  the  coast  to  Columbus  on  the 
Chattahoochee.  Our  health  has  been  marvellous,  unaffected 
by  climate,  waters,  seasons,  or  local  causes.  Neither  of  us 
has  ever  had  a  spell  of  sickness.  Rarely  has  a  doctor  crossed 
our  threshold.  We  have  had  seven  children.  Two  died  un- 
der two  years  of  age,  one  from  a  sudden  violent  attack  of 
croup,  the  other  with  suppressed  measles,  and  both  in  my  ab- 
sence 

"'The  survivors,  though  not  a  stalwart  set,  were  all 
sprightly,  active,  vigorous.  I  doubt  if  we  ever  lost  a  night's 
rest  with  all  of  them  together.  They  slept  well.  Whether 
this  was  an  original  constitutional  endowment  or  a  quality 
transmitted  under  the  law  of  heredity,  I  cannot  determine, 
certainly  they  all  had  the  gift  of  sleep — specially  in  the  morn- 
ing. 

"  '  We  have  five  children  who  have  come  to  years — four 
daughters  and  one  son.  It  is  fair  to  say  my  wife  is  fully  per- 
suaded that  no  two  people  ever  had  such  another.  She 
never  speaks  of  him  to  me  in  private,  or  refers  to  him  in  her 
letters  save  as  "  our  dear  son."  She  worships  at  his  shrine 
with  the  unfiickering  fervor  of  an  oriental  devotee.  To  tell 
the  whole  truth,  I  have  a  very  good  opinion  of  the  boy  my- 
self. Our  daughters  are  married  and  settled  among  you.  I 
do  not  mean  to  praise  them,  except  to  say  they  have  never 
given  us  trouble  or  sorrow  by  disobedience  or  misconduct.'  " 

(Then  follows  his  account  of  his  courtship,  which  we  have 
already  given,  and  of  his  marriage.) 

"  '  It  is  a  source  of  thankfulness  to  me  that  I  have  never 
turned  aside  from  the  work  of  the  ministry  for  secular  profit. 
What  this  little  woman  has  been  to  me  I  cannot  adequately 
express.  Her  fidelity  and  efficiency  in  the  management  of 
home  interests  has  left  me  free  for  unreserved  service  of  the 
Church.  You  have  said  that  I  have  been  true  to  my  State. 
Yes,  I  love  her  ;  I  love  every  inch  of  her  soil  from  Tybee 
Point  to  Rabun's  Gap,  and  from  the  mouth   of  the  Chatta- 


G78  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.      [Chap.  xxii. 

hoochce  to  Tallulah  Falls.  You  said,  also,  that  I  had  been 
true  to  my  Church.  I  have  tried  to  serve  her  with  sin- 
cere devotion,  and  lam  thankful  for  whatever  of  confidence 
and  affection  it  has  accorded  me.  I  thank  God  for  his  good- 
ness to  me  and  mine  ;  I  thank  God  for  the  love  of  the  Church, 
and  for  the  hope  of  heaven.  But  I  will  not  detain  you  far- 
ther. In  a  few  minutes  you  will  be  called  to  a  feast  in  the 
dining-room.' 

"  The  night  was  balmy  and  the  moon  shone  brightly.  After 
supper  the  guests  amused  themselves  according  to  their  own 
pleasure — the  young  promenading  in  the  halls  and  walks,  the 
old  sittin  isant  groups  talking  of  bygone  days. 

"  About  eleven  o'clock  the  company  assembled  in  the  par- 
lors, and  the  exercises  of  the  golden  wedding  closed  appro- 
priately and  tOUChingly  with  family  prayer,  conducted  by  Dr. 
Potter.  The  one  hundred  and  third  Psalm  was  read,  and 
three  stanzas  of  the  hymn,  '  Come,  thou  Fount  of  every 
blessing,'  were  sung  with  much  spirit,  the  singing  led  by 
the  Rev.  W.  R.  Foote,  pastor  of  our  Church  at  Sparta.  The 
prayer  that  followed  was  full  of  solemnity  and  deep  feeling  ; 
the  petition  was  offered  that  the  faith  that  dwelt  in  the  grand- 
parents and  parents  might  also  dwell  in  their  posterity  to  the 
latest  generation.  There  were  hearty  responses  from  the 
kneeling  worshippers.  With  the  voice  of  fervent  prayer  and 
the  echoes  of  holy  song  lingering  in  their  minds,  the  guests, 
young  and  old,  sought  repose — and  thus  ended  the  GOLDEN 

Weddin 

The  manifestations  of  regard  and  affection  which  came 
from  every  direction,  from  saint  and  sinner,  from  north  and 
south,  were  very  precious  to  his  loving  heart.  General 
Toombs,  Mr.  Phinizy,  Young  Harris,  old-time  friends,  as  well 
as  his  brethren  from  all  the  Church  round  about,  sent  words 
of  congratulation  and  handsome  offerings.     He  had  much  to 

:den  the  hour.  His  children  and  grandchildren  were  all 
in  the  Church,  and  he  believed  were  doing  the  Lord's  work. 
Two  of  his  grandchildren  were  in  the  missionary  field,  his 
dear  Ann  was  hale   and  vigorous,  and,  save   for  her  anxiety 


1884.]  ufe  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  679 

about  him,  happy.  His  neighbors  revered  and  loved  him,  as 
they  loved  no  other  man.  He  had  an  unbroken  assurance 
of  the  divine  favor,  not  a  cloud  was  between  him  and  Heaven. 
We  have  but  few  letters  from  him  at  this  time.  He  did  not 
go  far  from  home,  and  his  dear  wife  went  generally  with  him 
when  he  did  go  ;  but  he  wrote  one  to  his  granddaughter 
Claude.  The  girls  from  the  College  made  an  escapade  on 
the  1st  of  April,  coming  to  Vineville  without  consent.  It 
was  by  them  intended  as  a  harmless  piece  of  mischief. 
Claude,  his  granddaughter,  was  among  the  culprits.  When 
the  irrepressible  reporter  got  hold  of  this  fact  he  made  of  it 
a  sensation.  There  was  intense  mortification  among  the 
teachers  of  the  College.  They  had  been  deceived  by  the 
girls,  and  the  discipline  of  the  school,  most  excellent  always, 
was  reflected  upon.  The  girls  were  penitent  enough,  and 
Claude  wrote  a  sad  confession  of  her  thoughtlessness  to  her 
dear  grandfather  and  he  replied  : 

To  Claude. 

"  DEAR  CLAUDIA  :  I  received  your  letter  of  explanation 
and  apology.  I  am  not  hurt  with  you,  though  I  regret  the 
thoughtless  frolic.  The  thing  has  produced  a  great  deal  of 
unpleasant  talk  and  given  the  foes  of  the  College  occasion  to 
damage  her  reputation  for  discipline  and  good  order.  But 
it  is  done  and  past.  Nevertheless  you  may  learn  an  impor- 
tant lesson  from  this  folly.  That  is,  that  wrong  actions,  or 
actions  of  doubtful  propriety  never  pay  in  pleasure.  The 
results  always  mar  and  poison  the  enjoyment.  You  have 
found  this  out  already.  Never  do  anything  that  you  have  to 
explain  and  defend. 

"  Right  will  always  vindicate  itself. 

"  All  well.      I  leave  to-day  for  Virginia." 

He  went  to  Virginia  and  paid  a  short  visit,  he  was  back 
again  by  the  last  of  May. 

During  the  summer  he  worked  on,  almost  unceasingly, 
although  he  was  still  so  feeble,  and  growing  more  so  each 


680  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.      [Ohap.  xxn. 

day.  The  Rev.  George  H.  Patillo,*  to  whom  he  was  tender- 
ly attached,  was  presiding  elder  on  the  Griffin  District.  The 
District  Conference  was  to  meet  at  Jackson,  and  a  church 
was  to  be  dedicated.  He  came  and  presided  over  every  ses- 
sion. The  Rev.  \V.  B.  Bonnell,  son  of  his  old  colleague,  was 
going  to  China  as  missionary,  and  Miss  Laura  Haygood  was 
going  with  him.  They  were  at  the  Conference.  The  bishop 
was  to  present  some  little  token  of  the  love  of  their  friends  to 
them.  He  said,  "  I  have  but  little  to  say  to  you,  my  brother, 
you  are  but  doing  what  you've  engaged  to  do,  giving  up 
all  to  follow  your  Master  ;  but  with  this  good  sister  the  sacri- 
fice is  greater."  He  found  in  Jackson  one  whom  he  had 
tried  to  rescue  from  a  drunkard's  life,  and  whom  he  had 
hoped  was  saved,  but  who  had  gone  back  to  his  cups,  and 
had  now  settled  in  Jackson.  He  came  to  see  the  bishop. 
[I  •  gave  him  a  long  and  tender  talk,  and  turning  to  the  pas- 
tor, said,  "Take  care  of  John,  he  is  a  good  fellow,  but  sadly 
weak  ;  helphim."  He  dedicated  the  church  on  Sunday,  and 
1  the  collection  which  paid  for  it. 
His  old  college  students,  Dr.  William  C.  Bass  and  Dr. 
Cosby  W.  Smith,  were  in  the  Female  College  in  Macon.  They 
resided  in  the  c<  They  had   educated  his  children  and 

his  grandchildren.  They  had  always  entertained  him  when 
he  came,  and  now  they  earnestly  requested  him  to  preach 
the  Commencement  He  did  so.      It  was  a  touching 

scene,  a  moving  occasion.  J.  Madison  Jones,  whom  he  had 
received  into  the  Church  as  a  boy,  was  there.  Henry  L. 
Jcwett,  President  of  the  Capital  Bank,  who  had  begun  a  re- 
us life  as  a  boy  under  hi>  ministry  when  he  was  pastor 
in  Macon,  and  scattered  over  the  congregation  were  scores 
who  had  come  to  Jesus  at  his  call.  He  knew  it  was  his  last 
message.  I  cannot  give  a  full  account  of  it,  but  the  sermon 
was  with  power.  He  believed  in  woman's  education,  he  had 
given  his  life  for  it,  but  he  had  no  taste  for  masculinity  in 
woman  ;    for  women  who  sought  the   platform   and  claimed 

*  While  I  am  revising  these  pages  this  excellent  man  has  just  joined  his  friend 
in  the  skies. 


1884-]  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  681 

the  ballot  his  voice  rang  clear,  and  he  said  in  all  ardor  that 
he  trusted  God  would  hide  his  head  under  the  sod  ere  that 
day  should  come.  He  went  from  Macon  to  the  Oxford  Com- 
mencement, and  then  to  his  camp-meeting  at  Culverton. 
Here  he  preached  his  last  sermon  in  Hancock.  His  heart 
was  full,  there  was  an  overwhelming  pathos  in  what  he  said. 
He  said  he  could  almost  see  Hardy  Culver,  Hawley  Middle- 
brooks,  William  Fraley,  and  Tom  Turner  as  they  looked 
toward  the  gates  and  said,  why  don't  Brother  Pierce  come — 
"  Brother  Pierce,  why  don't  you  come,"  and  I  should  answer, 
"  I  am  still  trying  to  get  your  children  to  go  with  me."  He 
went  to  Thomson  to  help  his  young  friend  Cary  secure  funds 
to  pay  for  the  Pierce  Institute. 

The  good  people  of  Thomson  had  with  great  effort  erected 
a  school-building  which  was  to  be  a  Methodist  district  school. 
There  was  a  debt  over  it  of  fifteen  hundred  dollars,  and  the 
bishop  was  requested  to  visit  Thomson  and  preach  to  the 
congregation  and  try  to  raise  the  sum.  He  came  on  the 
morning  in  which  he  was  to  preach — a  hot  August  morning. 
He  found  himself  very  hoarse,  his  throat  giving  him  great 
trouble.  His  host,  J.  M.  Curtis,  Esq.,  expressed  a  doubt  as 
to  his  ability  to  preach,  and  objected  to  his  making  the  effort. 
He,  however,  insisted  on  trying,  saying  he  did  not  know 
what  might  be  the  result.  He  leaned  heavily  on  the  arm  of 
his  kind  friend  as  he  walked  to  the  church,  secured  the  ser- 
vices of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Thrasher  to  open  service  for  him,  and 
then  attempted  to  preach.  He  spoke  with  great  difficulty, 
but  he  held  the  place  till  the  collection  was  taken,  and  re- 
turned to  Brother  Curtis',  where  he  rested  till  morning.  '  This 
was  his  last  appearance  in  the  pulpit.  From  the  home  of 
Mr.  Curtis,  in  which  his  bosom  friend  James  E.  Evans  died 
a  short  time  after,  he  went  to  Sunshine,  to  come  from  it  no 
more. 

The  end  of  a  good  man  never  comes ;  the  true  Christian 
never  dies,  but  the  time  for  his  departure  was  at  hand.  He 
had  finished  the  course,  he  had  kept  the  faith,  and  was  ready 
to  be  crowned.     Returning  from  Thomson  he  went  at  once 


C82  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.      tc"AP-  XXIL 

to  his  couch.  He  was  feverish,  his  appetite  gone,  his  throat 
trouble  increased.  Not  far  from  his  home,  staying  at  that 
time  with  his  son,  Dr.  J.  C.  Aubrey,  was  my  uncle,  Dr. 
James  Rembert  Smith,  the  youngest  son  of  Isaac  Smith,  one 
of  the  earliest  of  American  Methodist  preachers.  The  bishop 
had  led  Dr.  Smith  to  Jesus  nearly  fifty  years  before.  They 
were  born  the  same  year,  they  lived  in  adjoining  counties, 
they  had  been  bosom  friends  for  over  forty  years.  Dr.  Smith, 
came  at  once  to  see  the  sick  bishop.  Dr.  Alfriend,  a  prac- 
ticing physician,  the  bishop's  son-in-law,  was  with  him  all  the 
time.  The  bishop  knew  he  was  seriously  sick,  but  he  hoped 
to  rally  and  to  reach  the  Conference  among  the  Indians,  but 
others  saw  the  hope  was  a  vain  one.  His  friends  heard  of 
his  illness  and  hurried  to  his  bedside.  Potter,  Burke,  and 
Bass  from  Macon,  Haygood  from  Oxford,  his  brothers  James 
and  Thomas  from  their  homes  ;  all  knew  he  must  go. 

His  brothers  Thomas  and  James  reached  his  bedside  on 
Tuesday  ;  taking  the  hand  of  James  in  both  of  his,  he  said, 
"  I  am  so  happy."  Late  in  the  night  before  the  final  hour, 
when  asked  by  his  daugthcr  Ella  if  all  was  bright  up  there, 
he  said,  "  There  are  no  spots,  the  Lord  is  merciful  and 
gracious." 

The  rest  of  the  story  has  been  touchingly  told  by  his  old 
friend  and  student,  Dr.  Potter,  at  that  time,  as  now,  editor  of 
the   Wtsltyan  Advocate. 

'  I  Ic  had  been  dying  for  two  days  before  the  final  moment 
came.  Surrounded  by  his  devoted  family  of  children  and 
grandchildren  and  numerous  loving  friends,  he  quietly  waited 
the  hour  of  dissolution.  He  was  the  most  emaciated  object 
I  ever  saw.  Vet  his  imperial  intellect  was  undimmed  to  the 
very  last.  Though  he  could  scarcely  articulate,  and  then 
only  in  husky  whispers,  yet  he  would  repeatedly  speak  to  his 
friends  and  grieving  loved  ones. 

'•On  Mond  ly  morning,  a  while  before  day,  he  asked  all  to 
retire  except  Mr<.  Pierce  and  his  son.  There  were  matters 
to  be  talked  of  with  them  alone.  Then  he  sent  for  Dr.  Hay- 
good,  and  after  giving  him  a  statement  of  what  he  had  done 


1S84-]  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  683 

in  preparing  a  biography  of  his  father,  asked  him  to  take  the 
incomplete  work,  and  the  material  he  had  collected,  and  pre- 
pare the  volume  for  the  press.  This  Dr.  Haygood  promised 
to  do. 

"  On  Tuesday  morning  his  physician  and  son-in-law,  Dr. 
Alfriend,  in  reply  to  his  question,  'How  long  can  I  live?' 
answered,  '  Not  more  than  three  or  four  hours.'  He  then, 
with  the  utmost  composure,  gave  his  last  directions  to  his 
only  son,  Lovick  Pierce,  Esq.,  minutely  stating  different 
matters  of  business,  and  directing  as  to  his  burial-place.  It 
seemed  then  that  he  would  pass  away  in  a  few  moments.  He 
said  to  Rev.  W.  C.  Bass,  as  he  stood  by  his  bedside,  '  I'm 
almost  gone  !  almost  gone  ! '  Brother  Bass  said,  '  Yes,  but 
the  way  is  clear  ?  '  '  O  yes,'  he  whispered.  He  rallied 
from  that  sinking  and  his  pulse  became  stronger.  He  said 
to  his  family,  'The  doctor  alarmed  you  just  now  by  saying  I 
would  die  so  soon  ;  but  he  did  not  alarm  me.'  He  did  not 
until  then  give  up  all  hope  of  attending  his  first  Conference 
(the  Indian  Mission),  to  which  he  had  expected  to  start  in  a 
few  days,  had  he  not  been  stricken  down.  He  had  always 
felt  a  deep  interest  in  that  Conference,  and  one  of  his  grand- 
daughters and  a  niece  were  to  accompany  him  to  become 
teachers  in  the  seminary.  Finally  despairing  of  being  able 
to  make  this  visitation,  he  called  Dr.  Haygood  to  him  and 
gave  him  minute  directions  for  Bishop  McTyiere,  to  whose 
care  he  transferred  his  Conferences.  Oh  !  it  was  beautiful 
and  touching  to  see  this  consecrated  man,  really  in  the  very 
waters  of  Jordan,  recommending  by  name  certain  preachers 
for  specific  appointments. 

"  As  the  day  wore  on,  a  venerable  Christian  minister,  Dr. 
J.  Rembert  Smith,  a  physician,  sat  by  his  side  and  felt  his 
pulse.  '  What  do  you  think  about  me  ? '  said  the  dying 
bishop.  '  Do  you  think  I  will  get  well  ? '  The  physician 
paused,  and  then  replied  :  '  No,  Bishop,  your  work  is  done  ; 
it  is  impossible  for  you  to  recover.'  Not  a  feature  changed. 
The  same  beautiful  smile  kept  its  place  on  his  sunken  cheek, 
and  the  calmness  of  submission  settled  upon  his  soul.     No 


G84  Life  and  Tunes  of  George  F.  Pierce.      [Ghat,  xxil 

language  of  ours  can  paint  the  touching  scenes  which  tran- 
spired in  the  chamber  where  this  good  man  met  his  fate. 
Certainly  it  was  a  spot  '  favored  beyond  the  common  walks 
of  life — quite  on  the  verge  of  heaven.'  Such  composure, 
such  gentleness,  such  patience,  are  rarely  vouchsafed  to  suf- 
fering saints. 

••  .Many  friends  visited  his  sick-chamber,  and  received  from 
him  a  prompt  and  welcoming  notice.  In  no  single  instance, 
up  to  the  very  last  moment,  did  he  fail  to  recognize  an  acquaint- 
ance who  entered  his  room.  He  would  instantly  reach  out 
his  hand  and  call  the  name.  To  the  reading  of  the  numerous 
notes  and  telegrams  of  inquiry  which  were  sent  to  his  family, 
he  invariably  gave  intelligent  and  appreciative  audience.  His 
grandchildren  were  present  from  time  to  time  during  his  last 
days,  and  their  presence  seemed  to  add  much  to  his  satisfac- 
tion and  joy.  It  was  his  delight  to  hare  them  come  to  his 
room  and  put  their  arms  about  his  neck  and  kiss  him.  His 
mind  was  all  the  time  perfectly  clear,  and  his  memory  good. 
He  sec:  rget  nothing  that  needed  to  be  remembered. 

"  W  lay  morning  was   bright   and   the  air  pure  and 

bracing,  with  ju<t  enough  motion  to  be  felt  on  the  cheek. 
The  room  where  the  good  man  lay  was  a  biography  in  sym- 
bol. The  doors  were  wide  open,  the  window  sashes  were  all 
up,  and  the  blinds  thrown  back,  as  they  had  been  for  several 
days.  There  were  no  sombre  hues  on  the  face  of  things — 
cver\-  coin-  in  the  carpet  on  the  floor  could  be  distinctly  seen. 
There  were  about  twenty  persons  in  the  room,  members  of 
his  family,  neighbors,  and  friends.  There  were  some  tears, 
but  they  were  almost  silent,  and  coursed  down  cheeks  that 
ed  no  signs  of  agony  or  bitter  grief — such  tears  as  a 
mother  sheds  as  she  stands  in  the  door  and  waves  good-by 
to  her  daughter  as  she  goes  forth  leaning  on  the  arm  of  the 
approved  bridegroom.  There  were  no  pagan  lamentations — 
the  pain  of  parting,  that  was  all,  nothing  more. 

"There  was  no  conflict  on  the  death-bed,  except  a  purely 
physical  one.  The  death-rattle  could  scarcely  be  heard 
across  the   room.     The   chest  and  lower  face  of  the  Bishop 


18&4-]  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  G85 

registered  the  progress  of  disease,  but  in  his  eyes  and  on  his 
upper  face  there  rested  the  repose  of  the  early  morning  ;  and 
at  9. 1 5  A.M. ,  while  they  all  knelt  about  his  bed  and  joined  Dr. 
Haygood  in  thanksgiving  and  prayer,  he  was  gone.  The 
wires  flashed  the  news,  and  telegrams  of  condolence  began 
to  come  in. 

"  On  Thursday  morning  his  remains  were  taken  from  Sun- 
shine to  the  residence  of  his  son  in  Sparta.  During  the  day 
many  ministers  and  friends  reached  the  town,  having  come  to 
be  present  at  the  funeral  on  the  next  day.  Among  them  was 
the  bishop's  old  friend,  Rev.  Dr.  McFerrin,  of  Nashville, 
Tenn. 

"  After  tea  a  goodly  company  had  gathered  in  the  spacious 
parlors  where  the  remains  lay  in  a  neat  coffin.  The  bishop's 
son,  in  beautiful  harmony  with  his  own  custom  and  his 
father's,  asked  Dr.  McFerrin  to  conduct  family  worship.  The 
doctor  asked  Dr.  Haygood  to  read  the  forty-second  Psalm 
and  a  few  verses  of  the  fourteenth  chapter  of  the  Gospel  by 
St.  John.  He  then  led  the  company  in  a  comprehensive  and 
touching  prayer.  After  which  he  sang,  first,  the  closing  verse 
of  his  favorite  hymn  :  'Let  me  love  thee  more  and  more,' 
and  then  two  verses  of  the  hymn  beginning,  '  On  Jordan's 
stormy  banks  I  stand,'  and  then  called  upon  Dr.  Potter  to 
pray.  The  widow  of  the  bishop,  full  of  the  joy  of  God  and 
of  human  sorrow,  'and  many  of  his  children  and  grand- 
children were  present.  Several  persons  remarked,  as  they 
went  out  into  the  hall,  that  it  was  the  most  glorious  prayer- 
meeting  they  were  ever  in. 

"  Friday  was  fixed  for  the  funeral  services.  Delegations 
came  from  Atlanta,  Augusta,  Macon,  Warrenton,  and  from 
all  other  parts  of  the  State.  Trinity  Church,  Atlanta,  sent  a 
Bible  made  of  tuberoses  and  jessamines,  a  beautiful  white 
dove  surmounting  it.  There  was  another  of  the  same  kind 
sent  from  Augusta. 

"The  funeral  services  were  held  in  the  spacious  court- 
house. The  village  was  draped  in  mourning — every  hammer 
still,  every  store  closed.     The  people  of  the  county,  black  and 


G8G  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.      [Chap.  xxii. 

white,  thronged  the  streets.  The  large  auditorium  of  the 
court-house  was  crowded  with  hearers.  The  services  were 
opened  with  reading  the  one  hundred  and  third  Psalm  by 
Dr.  Key,  and  a  lesson  from  the  New  Testament  by  Dr. 
Mann  ;  reading  the  hymn,  '  Servant  of  God,  well  done,'  by 
Brother  Brecdlove.  an  old  pastor  of  the  bishop's  family.  Dr. 
Potter  led  in  a  most  touching  and  beautiful  prayer,  and  then 
Dr.  Haygood  rose  and  announced  his  text.  Immediately  in 
front  of  the  speaker  was  the  family  of  the  bishop.  He  has 
but  one  son,  Lovick  Pierce,  Jr.,  and  three  daughters — Ella 
Turner,  Claudia  Middlebrooks,  and  Ann  Harlcy.  His  grand- 
children are  numerous,  and  were  here;  and  one  of  the  most 
touching  sights  was  the  pale,  sad  face  of  the  dear  woman  who 
for  fifty  years  had  been  the  joy  of  his  life.  The  colored  peo- 
ple crowded  into  every  vacant  space,  and  the  old  family  ser- 
vants were  present  to  pay  their  last  tribute. 

"  With  such  an  audience  before  him  it  was  not  probable 
that  Dr.  Haygood  should  be  other  than  deeply  affected.  He 
knew  how  Bishop  Pierce  loved  him,  and  I  hazard  nothing  in 

ing  that  the  dead  bishop  was  dearer  to  the  preacher  than 
any  other  man  in  the  world.  There  was  something  beautiful 
in  his  taking  as  a  motto  for  a  biographical  sketch  a  text 
Bishop  Pierce  had  often  preached  from  :  '  No  man  liveth  to 
himself — living  or  dying  we  are  the  Lord's.'  The  sermon  was 
a  masterpiece  of  its  kind. 

"  After  Dr.  11  "od's  sermon  the  report  of  the  Nash- 
ville meeting  was  read,  and  Dr.  McFerrin  rose  to  speak. 

•■  Forty-four  years  before  John  McFerrin,  from  Tennes- 
see, and  George  Pierce,  from  Georgia,  met  in  the  General 
Conference  at  Baltimore.  They  were  both  young,  not  thirty 
years  old,  they  had  much  in  common,  and  they  became  inti- 
mate at  once.  When  swords  were  crossed,  and  the  clans 
were  arrayed  in  1 844,  they  stood  side  by  side.  For  near 
fifty  years  they  had  been  bosom  friends,  and  now  the  old 
Tcnnessean,  snatched  from  the  grave's  mouth,  came  to  drop 
a  tear  on  his  old  friend's  grave.  His  heart  was  full.  He 
spoke  with  difficulty,  for  his  voice  was  husky  and   his  eyes 


18S4-3  Life  and  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.  687 

tearful.  It  was  a  beautiful  tribute  to  a  friendship  of  nearly 
fifty  years.  He  wound  up  by  sayipg,  as  the  tears  gushed 
from  his  eyes,  '  Farewell,  Brother  Pierce,  we  will  meet  again 
before  long  on  the  plains  of  glory.' 

"  We  bore  him  in  sad  procession  to  the  graveyard  of  the 
village,  and  laid  him  to  sleep." 

My  pages  are  full,  and  yet  how  much  has  been  left  unsaid. 
The  whole  land  joined  in  the  sorrow  of  the  Church.  General 
Toombs,  with  husky  voice,  told  of  his  love  for  him.  The 
New  York  Preachers'  Meeting  paid  its  tribute  to  him.  Uni- 
versities, conferences,  assemblies,  all  united  to  pay  honor  to 
him.      It  is  needless  to  introduce  these. 

In  the  village  of  Sparta  resided  the  old-time  friend  of 
Bishop  Pierce,  William  Stevens,  an  Englishman  by  birth. 
He  asked  the  privilege  of  paying  some  tribute  to  the  mem- 
ory of  his  friend,  and  placed  a  beautiful  tablet  to  his  memory 
in  the  village  church.  Handsome  portraits  were  placed  in 
the  chapels  at  Oxford  and  Macon.  He  had  discouraged  the 
idea  of  any  costly  monument  over  his  grave,  but  when  the 
Rev.  J.  W.  Roberts  suggested  that  one  should  be  erected 
there  was  a  generous  response  from  North  and  South.  Mr. 
George  I.  Seney  sent  a  generous  contribution,  and  his  old 
friends  from  all  sections  united  and  placed  a  handsome  mar- 
ble shaft  over  his  grave  in  the  Sparta  Churchyard.  It  was 
the  spontaneous  offering  of  loving  hearts  North  and  South. 

The  best  monument  of  the  man  is  the  life  he  lived  ;  his 
deeds  and  words.  If  I  have  shown  him  as  he  was  I  have  paid 
the  best  tribute  to  his  memory.  I  would  have  been  very 
glad  to  have  given  a  place  to  some  of  the  very  many  eulogies 
from  pulpit  and  press,  but  my  space  forbids. 

General  Toombs  said  of  him  that  he  was  the  most  sym- 
metrical man  he  had  ever  known.  The  handsomest  in  per- 
son, the  most  gifted  in  intellect,  and  the  purest  in  life. 

Judge  L.  O.  C.  Lamar  said  of  him,  that  of  all  the  great 
Georgians  he  considered  him  the  first;  and  Governor  Col- 
quitt, who  sat  under  his  ministry  in  his  youth,  who  entertained 
him  at  his  home,  who  sat  with  him  on  boards  of  trustees,  and 


G88  Life  ami  Times  of  George  F.  Pierce.      [Chap.  xxii. 

who  was  his  cherished  friend  for  many  years,  said  that  no 
man  <>f  any  position  in  her  whole  history  had  ever  done  so 
much  to  mould  the  Georgia  people,  and  had  done  so  much 
to  direct  them  in  the  right  way,  as  Bishop  George  F.  Pierce. 
A  whole  volume  could  not  contain  utterances  such  as  these 
from  all  classes  of  our  people.  As  he  said  beautifully  of 
Bishop  Capers,  in  his  memorial  sermon,  "  there  were  no  sins 
to  lament,  no  vices  to  deplore."  From  the  school  at  Athens 
in  1S27,  to  the  krrave  in  Sparta  in  1884,  his  pathway  had  been 
that  of  the  just,  shining  to  a  perfect  day. 


FINIS. 


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